The Last Son, Book Four: Destinies
by The Writer with No Name
Summary: AU S4. Xover with Superman and Justice League. In the wake of General Zod's treachery, Superman, the Justice League, and the X-Men find the world threatened by evils far worse than any they have ever encountered before. As prophecy begins to unfold, can the young Man of Steel and his fellow heroes defend the Earth against the horrors that loom to threaten it?
1. Darkened Horizons

_Disclaimer: X-Men: Evolution and all Marvel characters are property of Marvel Comics. Superman, the Justice League, and all DC characters are property of DC Comics. I am not making any money from this story; I wrote it solely for my own amusement. Enjoy!_

CHAPTER ONE: DARKENED HORIZONS

_Deep Space, Sol System, September 10, 2009_

The endless dark of deep space echoed with its own silence, dotted only by pinpricks of white starlight in the distance; even the Earth itself was a faint blue dot against the inky black…

…unless you had Kryptonian eyes.

Floating in the void, his silvery nanosuit covering his uniform, his visored helmet recording countless bits of data at quantum speeds, Superman remained still, his eyes closed as he savoured the silence. After the past year, quiet had been – and still was – a precious commodity…

"_Kent. We're almost in position; get back in here._"

Hearing the perma-growl of his teammate, Superman chuckled, opening his eyes. "On my way, Batman." Turning around, he flew back the way he'd come, towards the colossal, red-blue crystalline Superdreadnought – the _Perseverance of Von-El_ – as it glided through the black, extending a towing-beam. A few light-minutes off its port beam, a second Superdreadnought, one of its sisters, the _Cunning of Del-Shon_ – an exact replica, save for its green-black colour-scheme – glided along, its own towing beam extended, as both ships pulled an even more colossal cargo: a positively titanic, semi-translucent, blue-crystalline construct, its size well in excess of Earth's moon, resembling a gargantuan sea-urchin with enormous crystal spikes, surrounded by numerous crystal rings, the largest at its equator, while the rest decreased in size gradually as they approached the poles, with the largest spike at its top, adorned with a three-pronged crest.

The Sentrius Battlestation.

Once he was within range, Superman was swept up by the _Perseverance_'s teleporter-wave, which deposited him on the bridge with his two teammates. Gazing out through the _Perseverance's_ vast view-screen for a few more seconds, Wonder Woman turned towards him with a friendly smile. "I must say, Clark, this vessel provides quite a view!"

Tapping his belt-computer, Superman retracted his nano-suit, his uniform and cape turning back to blue and red as the nanite-coating slid back into the buckle, exposing the S-like crest of the Broken Eternity on his chest, his smile revealing as his helmet disassembled. "I thought so, too, the first time I was on deck!"

His cowl-clad visage focused on the fully-automated main console, Batman frowned. "And each of these ships can operate fully on their own? Without any crew?"

"That's right, Bruce – they're basically just big robots," Superman answered. "All they need is for either Sentrius or myself to give them an order."

Satisfied, Batman turned towards him. "Do you have the readings?"

Tapping his belt-computer again, Superman sent the data he'd collected to the ship's main computer, displaying it on a holographic star-map depicting Sentrius in the middle of the solar system. "It all checks out, Bruce: Sentrius is in perfect position, out of the way of any orbital path. We've hit the sweet-spot."

"Well, that's a relief!" Wonder Woman said with a nod. "And she's ideally placed to assist in any in-system emergencies?"

Before Superman could answer, a computerized female voice came in over the communicator. "_That is correct, Princess Diana. My communications array is fully capable of intercepting all emergency signals transmitted within this system, and my Point-to-Point Wormhole Generator can deploy relief-ships to any location within ten light-years of my position in a matter of minutes._"

Batman's frown deepened. "I didn't know you were programmed to eavesdrop."

Diana's chime-laugh answered him. "Says the expert on the subject."

Sentrius' voice turned regretful. "_My apologies,_" she said. "_I had only intended to inform Station-Commander El that my station-self is in position, but I believe that fact is already apparent._"

Superman nodded. "That's correct, Sentrius…and right now, it's either _Kal_ or _Clark;_ barring another emergency like the invasion, I won't be activating my commission."

"_Impossible, Station-Commander. Any other reference would be a gross violation of Defence Force protocol and acceptable military conduct._"

Superman sighed. "In any case, we're ready to beam aboard at your discretion; once we're aboard, power the ZSUs and put the Superdreadnoughts back in storage, and then prep the _Argo_ for departure."

"_Acknowledged, Station-Commander. Standby for transport._"

In seconds, a much larger teleporter wave washed through the _Perseverance_'s bridge and engulfed the three of them; as the wave faded away, they found themselves within the similar, blue-crystal layout of Sentrius' Station-Command, with the holographic visage of Sentrius herself hovering above them. "_Transport complete, Station-Commander. Initiating ZSU deployment._"

Through the large view-screens of Station-Command, Superman could see the familiar violet-black singularities as they engulfed the two Superdreadnoughts, putting them back into Phantom Zone storage. "Excellent, Sentrius. Any word from the Watchtower?"

Sentrius' image turned mildly puzzled. "_Negative, Commander: I have detected no significant alerts from the Beacon system. However, prior to my departure from Earth-orbit, I did detect one burst of anomalous activity._"

Batman was instantly alert. "What kind of anomalous activity?"

Sentrius was silent as she processed for several seconds. "_Apologies, Batman: the activity I detected has no prior reference in my database. I have nothing to compare it to._"

Wonder Woman looked grave. "Was it significant?"

"_I do not believe so, Princess Diana: the incident consisted of an extremely low-level energy-plume of an unknown type, occurring within Earth's Sahara Desert. As such, I logged it as anomalous._"

Now Superman looked concerned. "Okay, that's weird. We'll have to look into it after the meeting with the oversight committee, tomorrow."

Wonder Woman sighed. "I still cannot believe we must deal with these politicians on a regular basis," she muttered. "Of the choice between the committee and giving Sentrius' Command Module to the UN, I do not know which would be worse!"

Batman's tone was dry. "Why are you complaining, Princess? J'onn and I are the ones who'll be meeting with them."

Sentrius spoke up. "_Query: when the two of you attend, might I be allowed to accompany you?_"

Superman and Wonder Woman were both surprised, while Batman just arched an eyebrow. "Why?"

Sentrius' image turned regretful. "_Regardless of my directive to obey Zod's orders, I participated in the hostilities against Earth,_" she said. "_It…disturbs me that I was a party to the attacks; I wish to convey my regrets to Earth's leaders._"

"Sentrius, we were _all_ taken in by Zod," Superman answered. "He used _all_ of us to further his agenda."

"_Nevertheless, Commander, I would like to address the committee,_" Sentrius insisted.

Diana nodded. "I suppose we could use the Watchtower as a relay to open a channel to the UN…"

"_I do not believe that will be sufficient, Princess Diana. I would prefer to apologize in person._"

Batman's tone was dry. "And how do you plan to do that?"

"_I have already sent my proposed schematics to Commander El's computer for review,_" Sentrius answered. "_I can implement them within 12 hours._"

Curious, Superman popped out his belt-computer, and switched it on to look over the files he'd been sent…and his eyes went wide. "Wow."

"_You disapprove, Commander?_"

"Not at all!" Superman said. "I'm just…surprised!"

Intrigued, Diana glanced over her teammate's shoulder…and smiled. "I think this is a _splendid_ idea, Sentrius!"

"_Thank you, Princess Diana._" Sentrius' tone returned to business. "_Commander El, after reviewing the data from the invasion, I would strongly recommend establishing a chain of command in station operations: given training, Citizens Ka-Lir and Zor-El could be commissioned to utilize my systems in the event you are incapacitated, should another such crisis arise._"

Switching off his computer, Superman looked thoughtful. "That's an idea," he agreed. "We'll have to discuss it with Alison and Kara."

"_Understood, Commander._" Sentrius paused. "_I am detecting an incoming transmission from the Watchtower, low-priority. Shall I patch it through?_"

Batman nodded. "Go ahead."

Seconds later, the Flash's voice came in over the communicator. "_Hey, guys. Everything okay, out there?_"

Superman chuckled. "Everything's fine, Wally. We were just having a little housewarming chat with Sentrius."

"_She's settled in, huh?_" Flash asked. "_Cool by us; no offence to the big gal, but maybe now folks won't be so jumpy – you know, outta sight, outta mind?_"

Batman folded his arms. "You had a message for us, West?"

"_Oh! Right!_" Flash answered. "_Nothing major: I just heard from Professor Xavier – you know those new students he was expecting? They just arrived at the Institute, and he was hoping you and J'onn could be by soon for the meet-and-greet._"

Superman smiled. "Tell him we'll be stopping by shortly," he said. "Anything else?"

"_Yeah: Alison and Kara are just getting back from their visit to Themyscira, and I heard from Pete – Mr. Jameson wants to talk to you and Snoopy, this afternoon. Also, I heard from your Mom: she said she needs to reschedule her dinner with you and Alison, on account of she's got plans with… _"

Superman quickly jumped in, his face flushed. "I'll touch base with her on that, Wally," he said quickly. "We'll let you know as soon as we're back in range. Sentrius out."

As Superman ended the call, Wonder Woman couldn't help but chuckle as she saw Batman's scowl deepen. "Sooner or later, the two of you are going to have to deal with the fact that your parental-figures are seeing each other."

Superman looked queasy. "Talk to us when you can deal with _your_ mother dating again, Diana."

Diana's expression collapsed. "Point taken."

Batman's face returned to its neutral blank state. "I assume we're done here?"

Superman nodded. "Sentrius: prep the Point-to-Point Generator and ready the _Argo_ for departure. We're heading home."

"_Acknowledged, Commander. Targeting Earth-orbit and charging catapult._"

In the middle of Station-Command, the large, World-Gate-like crystal ring began to spark, spinning a swirling vortex within it, before the loading-elevator deposited the sleek, white-crystal form of the _Argo_ in front of it, its energy-tethers linking to the Speeder's retracted engine-pods, ready for a fast launch. Seconds later, the _Argo_'s teleporter wave engulfed the three of them, depositing them in the cockpit. Moving to the pilot's chair, Superman took hold of the controls, powering up its holographic HUD. "We're good to go, Sentrius; you may launch when ready."

"_Understood, Station-Commander. I will notify the Watchtower should any emergency arise in-system. Deploying catapult in 3…2…1…launching._"

The Speeder's view-screen depicted it perfectly: like energized taffy, the catapult's tethers snapped back, sling-shooting the _Argo_ through the stable wormhole, and then out into space right above Earth's orbit, the wormhole winking out of existence as it expelled the Speeder. Piloting the _Argo_ into a stable orbit, Superman set a course for the Watchtower. "I'll just drop you two off before I head to the Bugle; you can tell J'onn I'll meet him at the Institute within the hour."

Wonder Woman nodded. "Be sure to give the Professor and the new arrivals our best!"

By then, the impressive space-station headquarters of the Justice League was in sight, hovering above the Earth in orbit. Guiding the _Argo_ into a close pass, Superman activated the teleporter, depositing his two teammates safely within the Watchtower's Monitor Womb, before taking the Speeder down towards Earth. Once the _Argo_ was through re-entry, Superman set the autopilot, and activated the teleporter once more, beaming himself out into the open air, miles above the gleaming blue of the Atlantic Ocean. As the _Argo_ flew on to the north, heading for its dry-dock in the Fortress of Solitude, Superman accelerated west, a sonic boom echoing behind him as he flew towards New York.

He didn't know what his employer wanted, but at least it couldn't be anything _too_ serious.

XXXXXXXX

_Xavier Institute, Westchester, New York, a few minutes earlier_

"Okay, it's official: we just found a trainer _way_ worse than Logan!"

As she and Kara, in matching short, white, one-shoulder, toga-style robes, walked into the impressive Main Hall of the Xavier Institute, Alison "Power Girl" Blaire smiled at her boyfriend's cousin. "The second one in a year!" she agreed. "Now _that's_ a spooky thought!"

Her mid-length blonde hair haloing her face, 16-year-old Kara Zor-El nodded. "If that Philippa was Diana's instructor, then it's no _wonder_ she wanted to leave Themyscira!"

Alison shrugged. "Would you have preferred Artemis?"

Kara cringed. "Probably not."

Alison looked thoughtful. "Still, Amazon hardass or not, we could _definitely_ learn a lot from her," she admitted. "Remind me to thank Diana and Queen Hippolyta for the invite."

Kara groaned. "Sure, _after_ I take a shower," she moaned. "I swear, there must have been _Kryptonite_ in that sparring-hall!"

Wincing, Alison rubbed her shoulder. "No kidding," she agreed. "I guess we'd better get cleaned up before the new arrivals get here." At Kara's nod, the two of them walked upstairs, heading to their respective rooms. Letting Kara take the first shower, Alison headed to the room she and Clark shared, before flopping down on their bed face-first, letting out a piteous groan. '_As if starting university tomorrow wasn't hard enough…_'

Managing to pull herself together, Alison got up, and walked over to her laptop, switching it on and logging into her e-mail. '_Okay…junk, junk…message from Dad, so I'll read that later…junk, junk…_'

A frown crossed her pink lips as she glanced the subject line of one e-mail: _I'll always be there for you._ A check of the sender confirmed it wasn't Clark. '_Ugh! Not THIS guy again!_' she inwardly complained. '_How many times do I have to freaking report you before you get the message? Good-bye, stalker!_' Bringing up the e-mail, she quickly hit the "Report Abuse" link, deleting it, before leaning back with a sigh.

The second she did, Alison let out a yelp as something cold and damp brushed her leg…before she smiled as she recognized that familiar happy panting. Reaching down, she gave Krypto's ears a scratch as the Superdog brushed his nose against her leg, his tail wagging happily. "You knew I was stressed, didn't you, boy?"

"_Arf!_"

Before Alison could say more, Kara's voice called from the hallway. "Bathroom's free!" Picking a change of clothes, Alison headed for the bathroom, closing the door behind her. After several therapeutic minutes under the hot water, Alison turned off the shower and toweled off, before changing into a pair of blue jeans and a light pink tank-top, fitting just snugly enough over her ample curves. Tying her long, strawberry-blonde hair back into a ponytail, Alison finished off her outfit by clasping her favorite pendant – the one Clark had given her, their first Christmas together – around her neck, and then heading out of the bathroom.

As she emerged, Alison was greeted by a passing flare of ruby hair; walking by the bathroom, Jean "Phoenix" Grey, in her usual clothes, turned to greet her with a smile. "I take it your and Kara's trip to Themyscira went well?"

Alison smiled back, though she winced a bit, seconds later. "It went pretty well…although we could've done without the ancient-Danger-Room session with Diana's old teacher."

Jean flinched. "That bad?"

"Two words, Jean: _female. Logan._"

"Wow."

Alison nodded. "After that, I'm actually looking forward to university, tomorrow," she answered. "So, are the new kids here, yet?"

"They just got here, a few minutes ago," Jean answered. "Scott and the Professor just went to meet them."

Alison's smile came back. "I guess we'd better go say hello." With that, the two of them headed downstairs.

Arriving in the main greeting-hall, Jean and Alison found both Professor Xavier and Scott "Cyclops" Summers waiting for them. Meeting her boyfriend's gaze, Jean smiled. "Hey, handsome."

Scott grinned back. "Hey, beautiful," he greeted back. "So, are you ready for tomorrow?"

Jean's smile was a bit nervous. "You mean for our first day of both university _and_ part-time instructing here?" she asked. "A little scared; you?"

Scott chuckled. "For classes, I'm just a bit stressed," he answered. "For instructing? Petrified."

Sitting in his wheelchair, Charles smiled gently. "I'm sure you'll both do _fine,_" he soothed. "I'm sure you remember how Clark was apprehensive about instructing the New Mutants, and he did swimmingly!"

Scott nodded. "If you say so, Professor," he replied. "So, are we going to meet the new guys, or what?"

Charles' smile grew. "I believe they're ready for us, now." With that, he rolled into the living room, prompting them to follow.

As they entered the living room, they found eight others waiting for them; three of them were their other instructors: James "Wolverine" Logan, Hank "Beast" McCoy, and Raven "Mystique" Darkholme. The fourth was a young Japanese woman of around 15, of mid height, and lithe frame, clad in blue jeans, a j-pop t-shirt, and a jean-vest, with headphones over her ears, her mid-length black hair flowing freely, and her dark eyes mildly pensive. The fifth was a young man, around 18, fairly tall and gangly-thin, in brown khaki pants and a black t-shirt, his short hair a light red-brown, with green eyes. The sixth was a young woman, around 20, tall and athletically built, wearing black jeans and a violet t-shirt with a black jacket over her ample curves, her pale blonde hair mid-length, and her ice-blue eyes glaring.

And the other two, they already recognized.

More than a little surprised, Jean walked towards them. "Fred? Todd?" she asked.

Grinning sheepishly, Todd "Toad" Tolansky scratched his head. "Hey, Red, Cyke, Blondie," he greeted. "Bet you're surprised to see us, huh?"

Scott chuckled. "Yeah, you could say that," he answered. "Not that we're not glad you dropped by, but…"

"…why?" Todd finished. "Well…funny story…_true_ story…"

His immense girth shaking as he sighed, Fred "Blob" Dukes picked up from there. "After Supes took down Big Z, we were just gonna head home, but the Boarding House got fried."

Todd nodded sadly. "Not sure if it was Zod or the other guys that did it, but either way, we were out on the street." His stomach rumbled at that, prompting him to add, "And maybe a little hungry."

Charles' expression tinged with sympathy, answering Todd's question before he could even ask. "Of course you both can stay with us."

Fred grinned. "Great! Thanks, Professor X!" he exclaimed. "So…think me and Todd could head to the kitchen and fix up a little..?"

Todd groaned. "Jeez, Fred, could we wait until we actually get moved in _before_ you eat 'em out of house and home?"

"Sorry."

Smiling warmly, Charles turned to the three new arrivals. "All of you, welcome to the Xavier Institute," he greeted. "As I'm sure you've guessed, I am Charles Xavier, your headmaster, and these are three of my students, Scott Summers, Jean Grey, and Alison Blaire; you've already met three of our other instructors, Logan, Hank, and Raven."

Slightly nervous, the young Japanese woman slid down her headphones, slightly bowing. "_Konnichi wa,_ Xavier-sensei," she said. "I am Hisako Ichiki; you sent Logan-sensei to find me after my…powers activated."

Logan nodded. "Poor kid's folks were half out of their minds when I got there, Charles."

Glancing at Alison, the young man smirked, speaking up before Hisako could continue. "Rudy Jones," he said. "My powers switched on just yesterday; my folks and I had no clue until the Cookie Monster wannabe here dropped by."

Hank frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

Suppressing a laugh, Raven said. "Well, Hank…you _do_ look like him…"

Hank sighed, folding his arms. "Lovely."

Jean looked sympathetic. "You had _no_ warning, Rudy?"

Scott mirrored Jean's reaction. "Sorry, man; that must have been a heck of a blast of cold water."

"Nah, man, it's cool!" Rudy said. "I'm okay with getting a free ticket to superhero school." He glanced at Alison again. "Especially given the local sights."

Frowning, Alison crossed her arms over her chest.

Looking to the other young woman, Scott smiled in greeting. "We didn't get your name."

The young woman's frown grew. "Dinah Lance." She glared at Xavier. "I still say this is a waste of time, Xavier; I _don't_ need your help."

Charles' smile turned a bit wry. "Your mother thinks otherwise."

Dinah's eyes narrowed. "My _mother_ needs to mind her own damn _business,_" she spat, before grumbling under her breath. "And grow a _brain_, while she's at it."

Logan snorted. "Well, look at it this way, Loudmouth: either you stay with us, or you can deal with those assault charges."

Todd blinked. "Damn, lady; what'd you _do?_"

"_Nothing!_" Dinah shouted. "Those charges were completely _bogus_; that smarmy little prick cried assault because I stopped him from _raping_ my friend!"

Charles raised his hands. "We're not saying otherwise, Dinah; it just would have been easier to argue that if you hadn't shattered his eye-sockets."

Cowed, Dinah folded her arms. "He's lucky that's _all_ I did…"

Sensing he wasn't going to get anywhere, Charles turned to his elder students. "I'm sure our new students are eager to get settled away," he said. "Would you show them to their quarters?"

"Sure, Professor," Scott said. "Who's bunking where?"

Charles thought it over, inwardly thanking his lucky stars they'd added several new rooms to the Institute, over the summer. "Rudy may bunk with Todd and Fred on the second floor, and Hisako may room with Dinah on the first floor," he suggested. "Is that acceptable?"

Hisako nodded, bowing. "I do not mind if Dinah-san minds, Xavier-sensei."

At Hisako's remark, Dinah's scowl faded, turning to a wan smile. "It's okay with me."

Turning to Rudy, Todd grinned. "What about you, pal? Think you can handle rooming with a couple of slobs?"

Rudy laughed. "Are you kidding? I was about to ask _you_ guys that!"

Hank chuckled. "Well, that settles that."

Raven nodded. "Welcome to the Institute."

Logan's smile was a bit darker. "Once you newbies get settled in, report to the lower levels by 1530; as soon as the rest of the students, Flyboy, and Raven's Favourite Martian show up, you guys get your first Danger Room session."

As their instructors left, Scott, Jean, and Alison groaned. "Sorry, guys – looks like you get a baptism by fire," Scott said.

Alison moaned piteously. "I take it back: I'd rather deal with Phillipa."

Hisako looked confused. "Um…what are you talking about, Alison-san?"

Todd paled. "Wait…was he talkin' about the thing that nearly offed me and Fuzzy, the first time _I_ was here? _That_ room?"

"That's the one, Todd," Jean confirmed.

Fred gulped. "Great."

"Hey, it can't be _that_ bad!" Rudy exclaimed.

"Oh, _trust_ us on this one, Rudy," Scott said. "You don't know what you're in for…"

XXXXXXXX

_Great Sphinx, Gizeh, Egypt_

Deep in the endless desert, razor-edged winds howled and raged around the immobile form of the Great Sphinx, but the ancient colossal monument never so much as budged. Deep within the catacombs beneath the Sphinx, sparse light shone from torches, illuminating the dank labyrinth…and providing just enough light for reading.

In one lone antechamber, a solitary figure, clad in a black bodysuit and scalloped cape, contrasting his deathly-pale skin and red eyes, sat at a stone table, studying an ancient scroll…before he smiled, revealing twin rows of pointed teeth as he stood up, heading out of the antechamber, to rejoin his comrade before the massive stone door in the main chamber. "I believe we have our solution, Ozymandias."

Scowling, the ancient stone mutant known as Ozymandias glowered at his colleague. "For your sake, Essex, I would hope so – the Master grows impatient."

His smile never wavering, Nathaniel "Sinister" Essex just held up the scroll. "It is no longer a matter of hope, Ozymandias; this interpretation of the seal that holds our Master back has shed new light on the problem," he said. "As you know, the offering I once collected from the young Rogue will not be enough – we will need a living conduit."

Ozymandias was nodded. "A mutant."

"Yes, one capable of transferring the collected energy; in other words, someone who can imitate the powers of others."

"A shape-shifter?" Ozymandias asked.

Sinister nodded. "I know of only two…and since the Martian's capture poses an intolerable risk, that leaves but one."

Ozymandias' frown returned. "In either case, we must assault the fool Xavier's school," he grumbled. "And since the Kryptonian brat lurks there, we will need an army..!"

"…or the equivalent of one," Sinister said. "Luckily, I have just what we need." Closing his eyes, he reached out with his telepathy. '_Blink, it is time; bring yourself and our new ally to the Sphinx._'

There was a moment of silence, before a brilliant violet light flashed in front of them, depositing a young woman, with light purple skin, purple hair and eyes, elfin ears, and long purple hair, clad in a green leotard over her slim frame, in its place, next to a tall, strongly-built male, with long dark hair and fierce green eyes, clad in a silver-black armorsuit. "You summoned us, Master Sinister?" the man asked.

Sinister chuckled. "Indeed, Exodus. The time has come; Master Apocalypse's return is nigh."

The man – Exodus – beamed. "Praise be!" he declared. "A new golden age is upon us!"

The young woman – Blink – looked nervous. "And then, that's it, Sinister?" she asked. "Then I can go?"

Ozymandias glowered at her. "Impudent brat! You dare speak of abandoning the Master at his return?"

Exodus was equally disgusted. "It is an _honor_ to serve Master Apocalypse!"

"Now, now!" Sinister soothed. "I _did_ promise Blink that once she'd assisted us, she was free to go; once the Master is free, I doubt it will matter if she stays or not."

Ozymandias and Exodus seemed satisfied with that. "Your orders, Master Sinister?" Exodus asked.

Sinister took a few steps forward. "Blink, you will teleport Exodus and myself to the Xavier Institute; once there, you and Exodus will engage its occupants until I complete my objective. After that, we will return here."

Ozymandias nodded. "Do _not_ fail, Essex."

Sinister grinned. "I don't intend to." With that, he nodded to Blink; still nervous, the young mutant shut her eyes in concentration…as she engulfed the three of them in a vortex of violet light, taking them far from the Sphinx, leaving Ozymandias behind, to prepare.

XXXXXXXX

_Daily Bugle, New York City_

"Kent! Parker! Sullivan!"

Clark, in his bumbling persona complete with parted hair, glasses, and an image-inducer, clad in brown khaki slacks, a white button-up shirt, and a vest, had only just walked into the office of the Bugle when he heard the boss' bellow. "Do I want to know?"

Looking up from his desk, 18-year-old Peter Parker, in his usual jeans, blue t-shirt, and brown jacket. "I dunno, CK; ol' JJ actually sounds pleasant for once…"

From her desk, 22-year-old Chloe Sullivan stood up, smoothing out her light blue blouse and darker navy skirt, before plucking the pencil she used to keep some of her mid-length blonde hair out of her eyes from behind her ear. "Well, I guess we shouldn't keep the boss waiting."

Clark nodded at his partner and former classmate. "Guess not." With that, the three of them headed towards the owner's office.

When they walked through the door, they found J. Jonah Jameson sitting at his desk reading over the previous day's paper…with a grin on his face. Looking up, he gestured to the front page's article, overlooking an orbit-side snapshot of the Sentrius Battlestation: "_Howdy, Neighbour: Our New Friend From the Stars._" "Nice little human-interest piece you cobbled together, Kent."

Peter suppressed a chuckle. "In a manner of speaking…"

Chloe half-glared at him. "Sshh."

Clark grinned nervously, scratching his head. "T-Thanks, Mr. Jameson; I was lucky that I could catch Superman and Green Lantern and ask them about it!" he said. "From what I understood, the Justice League plans to use Sentrius as the hub of an in-system rescue service, an ongoing astronomy observation outpost, and a deep-space laboratory!"

Chloe had to chuckle. "I bet Dr. and Mrs. Dr. Richards just about fainted with delight when they heard _that,_" she quietly teased.

Jonah's grin kept going. "Between that and your articles during and after the invasion, Sullivan, the Bugle pulled in more readers than ever before!" he continued. "Because of that, we pulled in enough profit to finally make a dream of mine come true!"

Clark blinked. "Sir?"

Jonah rose from his desk, picking up another paper as he did. "Tomorrow's headline's already been written," he said, unfolding the paper. "Take a look!"

The headline said it all: "_Blast from the Past: Daily Planet Makes Comeback of the Century!_"

Chloe's eyes went wide. "The Daily Planet? Wasn't that..?"

"…old Perry White's newspaper in Metropolis before he passed. I know," Jonah said. "When he went, that grand old dame of the news industry went belly-up; for the longest time since, I've wanted to bring her back." His grin grew. "And now I _can._"

Now Clark started to smile. "You're kidding!"

"Had to pull a full week's worth of meetings to get the Bugle's board on my side enough to buy the Planet, acquire the lease, and hire staff, but I managed!" Jonah continued. "In one week, the Daily Planet publishes her first paper in years!"

Chloe laughed. "Sir, that's…that's _wonderful!_" she cheered. "Congratulations!"

Peter nodded. "Wherever he is, I bet Mr. White's smiling, right now!" he said. "But…that still doesn't explain why you called us in here, boss."

"Ah. Right." Jonah's smile dimmed a bit. "If the Planet's going to have any sort of chance at getting back to her glory-days, she'll need the best I have." He looked to Clark and Chloe. "In other words, Kent, Sullivan, she needs you two."

Clark's eyes went wide. "U-Us, sir?"

Chloe wasn't far behind. "Y-You want us to transfer to Metropolis?"

"It's a lot to ask, I know," Jonah agreed. "But if it wasn't important, I wouldn't ask." He sighed. "Still, it's your call; if you're not interested, I'll just find someone else – I'm not going to lose two of my best over this."

Clark looked thoughtful. "Could you give us time to consider it, sir?"

Jonah nodded. "By all means." With that, the three of them filed out of the office.

Once they were outside, Chloe allowed herself to take a breath. "Wow."

"Yeah," Clark agreed. "Heck of a bomb he dropped on us."

"Which? Asking you to transfer to a new paper, or admitting you two were some of the Bugle's best?" Peter quipped.

Clark chuckled at that. "Take your pick, I suppose."

Slightly nervous, Chloe chewed the side of her lip. "So…what do we do?"

Clark scratched his head. "Well, it's like Mr. Jameson said: if it wasn't important, he wouldn't have asked."

"Yeah, I know, but…" Chloe looked around, before dropping her voice to a whisper, "…won't this interfere with…your other job?"

Clark shook his head. "No more than the Bugle does," he said quietly, before his expression turned guilty. "The only thing that would worry me is that me going would leave you with a bigger workload, Pete."

Peter grinned. "A year ago, maybe, big guy, but I'm on the payroll, now; if things get hairy, I can always radio!" he whispered. "And as for work around here, I _did_ do okay before you two dropped by; I'll be fine!"

Chloe looked worried. "You're sure?"

"_Yes_, Snoopy, I'm sure; you two get out there and get the Planet back in fighting-shape!"

At her old nickname, Chloe half-frowned. "Oh…go catch a fly!" she teased.

Clark's smile grew. "Thanks, Pete."

"Anytime, Smallville."

Chloe turned to Clark. "So, should we tell Mr. Jameson now?"

Clark was about to reply, but his expression turned faraway, as his super-acute hearing drew his attention…and made his eyes go wide. "Actually, Chloe, maybe _you_ should tell him," he said. "I've got…errands to run."

Chloe understood. "Nothing too serious, I hope."

"Need a hand with 'em?" Peter added.

"I just might." Clark turned to go. "I'll be back as soon as I can." With that, he hurried off, heading for the nearest elevator. Ducking into the first empty one he found, Clark waited until the doors closed…and then began to rise, opening the upper hatch and flying out, shedding his work-clothes and inducer as he flew, revealing his uniform; reaching the top of the elevator-shaft, Superman opened the maintenance hatch and flew out, quickly hiding his clothes and then flying off, switching on his communicator. "Superman calling Justice League: any and all available members converge on my location!"

His grimace was evident in his next words. "The Institute is under attack!"

XXXXXXXX

_Museum of Natural History, New York_

As midday came, the afternoon traffic started to pour into the Museum, prompting the staff to quickly move to greet them; ever-curious, the Museum-patrons swarmed to the newest exhibits, poring over the latest displays of ancient artefacts, while the security detail kept a close eye on them…and not on the archives, allowing four individuals to discreetly break away from the crowd, and head into the Archival Department.

"Look, pops, this has to be the third or fourth museum we've snuck into; what makes you think we're gonna find anything?"

His PSI-shielded helmet gone, and his armour concealed by his long trenchcoat, Erik Magnus "Magneto" Lensherr looked over his shoulder, to fix his son with a stern glare. "We cannot be certain we will, Pietro, but we cannot afford not to look."

His silver-aqua armoured bodysuit exchanged for blue jeans and a black turtleneck, and stashed in his backpack, Pietro "Quicksilver" Maximoff scowled. "I still don't know why we're bothering; I say we let Super-Dork and his Lameass League handle whatever-it-is on their own."

Standing a feet behind Pietro, the looming form of Victor "Sabretooth" Creed drew closer, his scowl made more menacing by his fangs as he stuffed his hands in his own trenchcoat. "I'm actually with the squirt on this one, Lensherr. If you're actually serious about helping that runt, I've got a good mind to pack it in…"

"Not if you wish to be paid, Creed," Magneto snapped. "_My_ concern is that whatever Kal-El and his cohorts may soon face will be far _worse_ than anything any of us have faced, thus far, Zod included."

At that, St. John "Pyro" Allerdyce, his blazing red bodysuit and lighters concealed by his black jacket, winced, rubbing his arms where there had once been third-degree burns. "So…you're _sure_ whatever's coming is gonna be worse than that Zod wanker?"

"Almost certain," Magneto confirmed, looking through some of the scrolls on display. "Irene Adler spoke of three trials that the Child of the Star would face before the crisis began to break. The first were the meteors I called with Asteroid M; the second, mutants' exposure with the Sentinels."

Pietro paled. "And Zod was the third."

"Exactly." Reaching out with his magnetism, Magneto grasped a metal-rolled scroll through its glass case, carefully unfurling it. "All that remains now is the "darkness" she spoke of; whatever it is, it has had months to…_here!_"

The scroll in Magneto's grasp now depicted a complex image, accompanied by hieroglyphics, showing a bright light from the sky, overlooking several Egyptian pyramids, with a man in a robe and elaborate headdress – the current pharaoh – standing at the head of a large army…and opposing him was an even larger army, led by a large, strongly-built figure, painted _blue._

Pyro blinked. "Okay…what exactly are we lookin' at, here?"

Magneto began to translate. "This scroll depicts the end of the reign of the pharaoh Rama-Tut, and the rise of a new pharaoh," he said. "Rama-Tut was said to have been given great powers by the gods, but in the wilderness, legends of some great warrior arose, so the pharaoh sent his armies to crush him; the warrior defeated his would-be assassins, and raised an even greater army to challenge the pharaoh."

Sabretooth scowled. "Lemme guess: the blue guy won?"

Magneto nodded. "This warrior was an entirely new breed of being, unlike any seen before him," he continued. "He was said to have been found abandoned in the desert, and raised by a nomadic tribe, who thus called him _En Sabah Nur_: The First One."

Pietro's eyes widened. "Wait…he was a _mutant?_"

"There can be no doubt – he was the very _first_ of our kind," Magneto answered, unfurling more of the scroll, which now depicted the blue warrior – En Sabah Nur – surrounded by numerous blue-robed individuals, roaring in anguish as they blasted him with beams of light, with the Great Sphinx in the background. "Armed with the pharaoh's power, En Sabah Nur ruled over Egypt with an iron fist," he continued. "But still he was not satisfied, and sought to bring all the world under his heel – so much so that he was renamed: _End of All Things._"

"So who are those sods in blue?" Pyro asked.

Magneto finished his translation. "Before En Sabah Nur could realize his plan, he was stopped by a band of mighty mages, coming far from the east, who subdued him and isolated him from the pharaoh's power." His expression turned grim. "Though they defeated him, however, the mages could not slay En Sabah Nur – they could only seal him deep beneath the Great Stone Beast, the heart of his power…where he remains, to this day."

"Wait…_that's_ what Adler was going on about? This guy Nur?" Pietro asked. "Then what's the big deal? He's buried under the Sphinx! If he could've come back, don't you think he _would've_, by now?"

Magneto's eyes narrowed. "If he was alone, perhaps not, Pietro…but he _wasn't_ alone!" He unfurled the last bit of the scroll, showing two figures sneaking away in the distance. "The mages were able to subdue En Sabah Nur, but not before his most trusted lieutenants could flee, vowing to one day free their master from his prison!" He gestured to one of the figures. "And one of them we already know."

Sabretooth squinted. "Hey…isn't that..?"

Magneto nodded. "Yes, Creed. That can only be Nathanial Essex…or whatever name he called himself, then."

"B-But he'd have to be _ancient_ by now!" Pietro cried. "How could he still be here?"

"We all know how powerful a mutant he is," Magneto said. "And if he was as avid an experimenter then as he is now, he could have devised some way to halt his aging."

Pyro was dumbstruck. "Bloody _hell…_"

Magneto's expression turned firm. "We must notify Charles; by now, Essex has had several _millennia_ to lay his schemes!" he declared, before closing his eyes, and thinking as loud as he could. '_Charles! Charles, I must speak with you! It is urgent..!_'

The reply he got snapped his eyes open, his face going pale. "Outside! _Now!_" he barked. "We must get to the Institute immediately!"

Pietro arched an eyebrow. "Why? What's the problem..?"

"There is no _time!_" Magneto urged, already breaking into a run. "It may already be too late!" As their leader ran off, the rest of his Acolytes could do little but follow after him; once they were outside, Magneto drew a tiny sphere of metal from his pocket, and levitated it into the air, bending it to his will. Instantly, the sphere expanded like a bubble, growing large enough to encompass his three followers; as the sphere opened, Pietro, Sabretooth, and Pyro stepped inside, before the sphere and its master levitated straight up, heading for the Institute…

…while Magneto desperately hoped that they were in time…

XXXXXXXX

_Xavier Institute, a few minutes earlier_

By the time the new arrivals had gotten settled away, most of the afternoon had come and gone. Glancing at the clock, Alison smiled. '_The others should be heading home about…yep; called it!_'

Almost as soon as she said that, she heard several vehicles pull up in front of the Institute – the rest of the X-Men and X-Force returning from Bayville High. Turning, Alison moved to go greet them…but a familiar voice interrupted her. "I see the newcomers have been settled, Blaire; I suppose that much not even you could foul up."

Half-smiling and rolling her eyes, Alison turned back to see her "best enemy" emerge from her teleport. "You know, LeRoux, I liked you better when your throat was sore."

Her usual day-clothes exchanged for a smart green business suit, complete with mid-length skirt and professional jacket, her long mahogany hair tied back in an elegant bun, and her green eyes framed by glasses, 18-year-old Anita "Siryn" LeRoux smirked back. "Nice to see you too, twit," she quipped back.

Eyeing Anita's choice of attire, Alison arched an eyebrow. "What's with the getup?"

Anita shrugged. "Oh, just consolidating my hold on LeRoux Enterprises," she answered. "I'd caught wind of a potential takeover."

Alison was instantly serious. "Your dad?"

Stricken, Anita shook her head. "I do not think so; if this takeover had been backed by Van Damme Industries, it would have been far more difficult." She sighed. "I suppose this is Father's way of letting me make my own way."

Alison gulped. "For now, at least." She managed a smile. "And Illyana?"

"Happy to be visiting her parents," Anita suppressed a blush, "though I think she _really_ wants to tell the Rasputins about Piotr and I."

"Why don't you?" Alison inquired. "Piotr's a great guy."

Anita nodded. "Piotr is wonderful, but…I still don't know what the fallout of my leaving Father's employ will be; how could I endanger them?" She sighed, before she changed the subject. "And did I see Todd and Fred among the new arrivals?"

Alison chuckled. "Yep; I'm not sure how they're going to take seeing you, again!" she said, before she frowned. "Ironically, they'll probably be the least trouble."

Anita arched an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I don't know; most of them seem okay…but that guy Rudy Jones gave me a bad vibe," Alison confessed. "It didn't help that he was probably perving on me, earlier."

Anita shrugged. "You likely needn't worry; once Clark makes it clear that you and he are together, Jones will get the message if he has half a brain," she said. "And if not, a few Danger Room sessions with him should get the point across."

Alison's smile came back. "You're all heart."

"I know." Anita motioned towards their friends arriving. "Shall we?"

Alison nodded. "Let's." With that, the two of them headed downstairs, towards the front yard.

By the time Alison and Anita emerged from the Institute, most of the others were heading in. As she, Lance, Kurt and Amanda hopped out of Lance's jeep, Kitty "Shadowcat" Pryde waved to Alison. "Hey, girl!" she greeted. "How was Themyscira?"

Alison laughed. "An amazing place to visit, if you like a heck of a workout!" she answered. "And what about you? How does it feel to be seniors?"

Standing next to his girlfriend, Lance "Avalanche" Alvers scratched his head. "Cool, but _weird,_" he said. "I think part of me is still amazed we all made it, this far."

As he switched off his image-inducer, shedding his human disguise and revealing his fuzzy blue self, Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner nodded. "_Ja,_ plus ve have a new principal; Herr Kelly resigned!"

Anita arched an eyebrow. "Oh? He decided to retire?"

Amanda "Daytripper" Sefton shook her head. "He decided to run for mayor of Bayville!" she corrected. "I think, after everything that's happened, he wanted to get involved!"

Alison blinked, before she smiled. "Good old Mr. K."

"Indeed," Anita agreed. "If only his brother were more like him."

By then, Scott and Jean had joined them outside, along with the new arrivals. Spotting his fellow X-Men, Scott smiled. "First day back went okay?"

Hopping off of her boyfriend's motorcycle, Rogue shrugged. "Let's see: no Duncan, no emergencies, no Duncan, no insane generals, and no Duncan. Ah'd say it went pretty good."

Taking off his helmet, Remy "Gambit" LeBeau grinned, his red-on-black eyes glinting. "If Remy didn' know better, _chere_, he'd say dat y' were glad Matthews was gone."

"Oh, lahke Ah'm the only one?"

Walking up, Bobby "Iceman" Drake grinned. "Not a chance, Stripes; as far as we're concerned, a Dunc-free school is an _awesome_ school!"

Glancing towards the X-Van, Jean smiled as the driver emerged. "What about you, Aunt Maddie? Did the school go for it?"

In her usual slim jeans and black jacket, her long red hair borderline identical to her niece's, Madelyn Pryor beamed back at Jean. "I don't see any problems, Jeannie; Evan should be able to take the high-school exam within a few months."

Hopping out from the X-Van's side-door, Evan "Spyke" Daniels, his upper body covered in spiky armour, clad only in jeans and sneakers, half-smiled. "I guess me going to regular school is out of the question, at this point."

As he, Rahne, and Ray hopped out after Evan, Roberto "Sunspot" DeCosta looked grim. "Hey, don't give up yet, man."

Ray "Berzerker" Crisp nodded. "Remember, you still got Doc Richards workin' on you."

"So does the Thing."

Rahne "Wolfsbane" Sinclair frowned. "Aye, an' he's on the verge of curing him!"

Spotting their former leader, Fred gulped. "Uh…h-hey, Boss-Lady…"

Glancing over her shoulder, Anita nodded briefly. "Fred. Todd."

As she walked over, Wanda "Scarlet Witch" Maximoff grinned at her boyfriend. "You can relax, Todd. Anita's on _our_ side – for _real,_ this time."

"Easy for _you_ to say, Cuddlebumps; you never saw her at her worst!"

Following Wanda, with Tinya beside him, Mark, clad in black slacks and a grey jacket, contrasting his green, circuit-lined skin, spoke up. "Your concerns are valid, Todd, but you need not worry – we have already addressed the issue of Anita's allegiance."

In her usual black-and-white skirt-and-blouse attire, Tinya "Phantom" Wazzo nodded in agreement. "It's okay, Todd; we've already dealt with whatever Doom wanted her to do."

Her eyebrow arched, Dinah glanced at Anita. "_Doom?_ That nutcase in Latveria? You worked for _him?_"

Anita's eyes narrowed. "I do not believe my issues with my father are _any_ of your business."

Dinah snorted. "He's your _dad?_" she snorted. "Wow. And I thought _I_ had issues."

Frowning, Anita glanced to Alison. "I'd have never thought it possible, Blaire," she remarked. "Someone even _more_ irritating than _you._"

As she, Lila, Sam, and Jamie walked over, Tabitha "Boom-Boom" Smith snickered. "Making friends already, Princess?"

"Hardly, Smith."

Smiling gently, Sam "Cannonball" Guthrie glanced to Alison. "Themyscira went okay?"

Alison shrugged. "Pretty much."

Sam went a tiny bit red. "Kara didn't get hurt?"

"Yeah, a Kryptonian under a yellow sun is going to sustain injuries!" Alison joked, before her smile grew. "Why?"

Sam grew redder. "No reason."

Mercifully, Alison let him off the hook. "How's Paige?"

Sam calmed down. "Enjoyin' some time with Ma and Pa," he answered. "After the past few months, they were worried sick about us both."

Jamie "Multiple" Madrox looked nervous. "But…they're gonna let her come back, right?"

Laughing, Lila "Leap" Cheney ruffled her second-youngest teammate's hair. "Of course, Jamie! Between all of us, Kal, and the League, the Institute's gotta be one of the safest places around; you'll be seeing your girlfriend again, before you know it!"

Jamie flushed. "S-She's not my girlfriend..!"

Lila steamrolled past his denial, turning to her BFF. "Speaking of our favourite big blue lummox, girl, what exactly were you and Kal doing up north, this past weekend?"

Now it was Alison's turn to blush. "Oh…just doing a little remodeling at the Fortress," she said, as her blush grew, "and…reading the _I'ud Rel Kiurai-Rao._"

Lila arched an eyebrow. "Which is..?"

Alison knew her face was redder than Clark's cape. "Parts of it are collections of ancient Kryptonian mythology," she began, "but mostly…it's Krypton's _Kama Sutra._"

Tabitha and Lila both stared, while Jamie blinked. "Huh?"

Tabitha chuckled. "Well, Diva? Do _you_ want to explain it to him, or should we?"

Stricken, Alison gulped. "Well…" she began…but she got no further, as a brilliant flash of light illuminated the yard, followed by an enormous surge of invisible force that sent everyone flying, scattering the X-Men, X-Force, and the new recruits across the yard. Alison and Anita were both knocked for a loop, but they recovered quickly with handsprings, getting back up fast enough to take a look at their assailants.

Standing in the middle of the yard were two individuals: one was a young, purple-skinned, nervous-looking young woman, in an emerald leotard, while the other was a tall, strongly-built young man, seemingly the same height and age as Clark was, in a silver-black armorsuit, his dark green eyes glowering at them all. "So _this_ is what opposes the Master?" he spat. "I am _profoundly_ disappointed."

Scott and Jean were the next to recover. "Who the hell are you?" Scott demanded.

"Emissaries of the new Master," the armoured man answered, folding his arms. "A new golden age is approaching for all mutantkind. Swear to serve the Master, and you may be spared; refuse, and you shall burn with the rest of humanity. Choose now."

Rogue snorted. "Terrific; a mutant door-to-door psycho-evangelist. And here Ah thought we'd seen it all."

Jean glared at the newcomers. "Did Magneto send you here?" she demanded. "Didn't he learn _anything_ from our encounter with Zod?"

The man just laughed. "_Lensherr?_ That short-sighted _fool?_" he scoffed. "He does not even deserve to breathe the same _air_ as the Master!"

Anita looked wary. "If Magneto did not send you, who did?"

"Yeah! Just who is this "Master" of yours?" Kitty added.

"It is not your place to know the Master's name – you have not yet earned that right," the stranger snapped. "The offer remains; what say you?"

The young woman looked nervous. "Exodus, I'm not so sure about this…"

"This is no time for hesitation, Blink," Exodus snarled. "Unless they accept the offer, they are enemies of the Master…and enemies must be _dealt_ with."

His eyes narrowed, Evan popped out his wrist-spikes. "I couldn't have said it better myself, nutjob."

Dinah's fists clenched. "You and your "Master" can take your offer and your "golden age" and _shove_ it, freak-show!"

Exodus' expression didn't waver. "That is your decision?"

Scott's expression was firm. "Whoever your "Master" is, he sounds just as bad as Zod was," he snapped. "We don't want _any_ part of it."

Exodus' eyes narrowed, while Blink's anxious expression grew. "So be it," Exodus spat. "If you would choose death…_then death you shall receive!_"

With those words, Exodus gestured…and unleashed a titanic wave of telekinetic force, gouging the earth in all directions as it radiated away from him. As fast as she could, Jean raised a TK-bubble ahead of Exodus' radial blast to catch it…and nearly collapsed from the strain. '_Scott, we've got to get the new kids to safety! Whoever this guy is, he's a MAJOR player!_'

'_Way ahead of you, Red!_' Scott answered through their telepathic link. "Anita: 'port our new friends to safety! X-Men, X-Force: Attack-Pattern Alpha-3 – take these psychos _down!_"

That was all everyone needed; instantly in motion, Rahne assumed her wolf-state and ran straight at the TK-bubble, meeting Kitty in mid-leap as she phased them both through Jean's barrier. While Kitty rolled up onto her feet, Wolfsbane darted at the two intruders, her fangs bared. Exodus hardly flinched – he just glowered at Blink, who cringed…and formed two daggers of violet light in her hands, before she threw them at Rahne and Kitty; the energy-knives impacted the ground mere steps ahead of Rahne, expanding into a portal that swallowed her as she stepped on it, seconds before Kitty fell into the portal thrown at her feet, as they were both violently ejected from exit-portals that formed outside the barrier, moments later.

As Exodus' TK-surge faded to nothingness, Jean lowered her barrier, while Rogue moved to Fred's side. "Sorry, big fella; Ah just need a little boost!" With that, she gave him a quick tap, absorbing a brief amount of his strength, before Anita waved her hand, engulfing Fred, Todd, Rudy, Dinah and Hisako in green haze, teleporting them away. His eyes narrowed angrily, Lance summoned a massive tremor at his feet, popping several massive boulders out of the ground like pebbles. Rogue was at his side in seconds, catching the boulders with Fred's copied strength and heaving them at Exodus; assuming her molten state, Amara "Magma" Aquila blasted the projectiles with volcanic-hot bursts of energy, liquefying them instantly. Exodus just sneered, gesturing at the lava-rocks with one hand – the rocks instantly stopped, and shot back towards Rogue and Lance.

Rogue flinched. "Aw, crap..!"

Anita was one step ahead. "_Repulsos Glacis!_" Her spell instantly took shape as a wall of frigid energy that appeared in front of Lance and Rogue, flash-freezing the magma-rocks solid as they impacted. Icing himself over, Bobby leapt into the air, forming an ice-sled ahead of him as he rocketed through Anita's wall; the etheric frost supercharged his sled, sending him racing at Exodus before the psychotic mutant had a chance to blink. With expert aim, Bobby unloaded one rapid-fire glacial burst after another – there was no way he could miss.

But he did.

Mere moments before Bobby's first shot could hit, Exodus vanished in a flash of light, reappearing a few feet away…and leaving Blink to frantically dodge Bobby's shots, diving into one of her own portals to move clear. Seeing Exodus mildly winded, Anita readied a sonic scream and let loose. The deadly pulse of sonic force slammed into Exodus, almost knocking him over, but he managed to hold his ground…before he _glared_ at them.

Instantly, Anita gasped with pain, holding her head, while Bobby fell off his sled, overcome with agony. Jean quickly understood. "He's a telepath, too! K'imm, with me!"

Morphing out of her human state, K'imm "Miss Martian" J'onzz synched her telepathy with Jean's, and raised a mental barrier around their friend's minds. K'imm winced at the psychic impact. '_H'ronmeer, he's almost as strong as Dad!_'

'_Tell me about it!_' Jean agreed. '_I'm even having trouble with Phoenix helping me!_' A trickle of red leaked from her nose. '_Scott, could you PLEASE distract this nut for a minute?_'

'_Already on it!_' Scott sent back, as he tipped his shades forward on his nose, letting loose a torrent of crimson light that knocked Exodus clear across the yard. As Exodus struggled to get back on his feet, Kurt vanished into a cloud of sulphur, reappearing directly above Exodus' head, to slam him with a flying kick…only to be swallowed and spat out by a violet portal, which sent him tumbling across the ground.

Turning a furious gaze on Blink, Amanda opened up with her force-bolts, sending a torrent of energy-blasts screaming towards the violet mutant, who frantically opened portal after portal, her expression growing more and more panicked with each attack. Jubilee and Tabitha joined her assault, with Jubilee blanketing Blink's position with pyrotechnics, while Tabitha generated two ball-sized cherry-bombs and sent them rolling along the ground towards Blink, who barely saw them in time, only just managing to 'port herself clear of the double-blast.

With Blink off-balance, Remy saw his chance: drawing and extending his bo-staff, he gave it a quick charge, leaving it with a deadly pink glow, before he tossed it like a javelin. Already catching his strategy, Lorna "Polaris" Dane grabbed the staff with her magnetism and sent it rocketing towards Blink, who met it with a portal…exactly as Remy had planned.

The staff was only halfway into the portal when it detonated, its concussive force ripping through the portal-dimension…and through Blink, who was knocked to her knees, gasping for breath. "E-Exodus…I-I can't fight anymore…"

Exodus just scowled at her. "Weakling _fool!_" he spat. "The Master will hear of your failure to – _ARRGGH!_"

He was cut off as one of Evan's bone-spikes sliced across his shoulder, forcing him to telekinetically block the rest as Evan fired them at machine-gun speed, one after another. With Exodus pinned, Alison darted at him at super-speed, followed by a flame-state Roberto and about five Jamies; reaching Exodus first, Alison nailed him in the chin with an uppercut, knocking him airborne, where Sunspot peppered him with plasma-blasts. The first two struck true, but by then Exodus had recovered, as he quickly repelled the rest with his TK, propelling himself towards the airborne Roberto…only to get knocked back to the ground by the force-cannons of a battle-mode Brainiac 5. With Exodus grounded, the five Multiples charged him, dog-piling on him and keeping him pinned, long enough for Tinya to reappear in front of him, phasing her hand and reaching into his chest, before partially re-massing her hand as it gripped his heart. "Okay, nut-job: are you going to surrender and tell us what this is about, or do I have to squeeze?"

Exodus looked ready to _boil._ "_I'll DIE before I yield!_" he exploded, as he unleashed an immense TK-surge – far greater than the first – that startled Tinya and broke her grip, and sending everyone, Blink included, flying across the yard, landing in front of the Institute doors.

Rogue coughed. "Oh, Gawd…don't tell meh this loon was holdin' back."

Catching his breath, Exodus stood up. "I must admit, you all surprised me; perhaps you might have been worthy foes of the Master, after all," he said, his eyes narrowing. "But you will not live long enough to trouble him; I am through toying with you."

Alison glared back at the lunatic mutant, before she caught a familiar sound in the distance…and smiled. "Oh, freak-show, you could not have _picked_ a worse time to say that."

Exodus smirked. "Spare me the bravado, wench; you have nothing left to…"

And then he heard the sonic boom in the distance.

Mere moments after Exodus' threat, a red-blue streak shot out of the sky, darting straight at Exodus, before a steel-hard Kryptonian fist collided solidly with his nose – Exodus barely had a chance to even register the pain before Superman's haymaker sent him flying _clear_ across the yard, gouging chunks out of the earth as he skidded several times, until he finally came to a stop. Seconds later, the sleek Javelin-One dropped out of the clouds, auto-landing behind him as Flash, Green Arrow, Hawkgirl, and the Martian Manhunter disembarked. Turning, Superman looked grave as he met Alison's eyes. "Everyone okay?"

Catching her breath, Alison nodded. "Yeah, we're okay."

Before Superman could ask more, Exodus' movement drew his attention. Turning back, he saw the mad mutant stagger, red streaming from his nose…which began to rapidly mend itself, all the while a desperate expression crossed his face. "What are you _doing?_" he cried. "Why are you standing in the Master's way? Do you not know that a new golden age is upon this world?"

Flash blinked. "Okay…somebody needs to stop putting extra sugar in their Crunchy-O's…"

Exodus didn't even react to the quip. "You – all of you – should be _helping_ the Master!" he implored. "Once he rises, all the inequity our kind – and yours – faces will be razed from this world!"

Superman's eyes narrowed. "Buster, I don't know _what_ it is your "Master's" pushing, but if it involves "razing" anyone, then you can count me _out,_" he snapped. "Especially since you put my friends on his shit-list."

Exodus' fury came back, full-force. "_Kryptonian FOOL!_" he exploded. "If you wish to perish with humanity, then so _BE_ it!" Unleashing his TK, Exodus ripped a huge chunk out of the earth and heaved it at his foes, but the Martian Manhunter was quicker, his crimson eyes flaring white as he telekinetically halted Exodus' attack, before he switched tactics and went straight for Exodus' mental defences, straining as he pried at the insane mutant's mental guards…and then broke through, sending Exodus into screams of agony.

That was all the opening Flash needed – blurring into action, he darted behind Exodus, grabbed his armorsuit's cape, and ran in circles, spinning him like an oversized top. As Exodus started to wind down, Green Arrow let fly with a glue-arrow, which spattered adhesive gel across Exodus' face as it connected, blinding him long enough for Hawkgirl to close and slam him with her Nth metal mace, knocking him airborne. Stunned at first, Exodus recovered quickly, levitating himself in midair as he unleashed massive TK-pulses at his attackers, forcing them to scatter. Instantly darting skyward, Superman weaved in and out of Exodus' blasts until he'd closed with the madman; seeing him approach, Exodus widened his blasts, slamming Superman with a concussive wave of psychic force. The Man of Tomorrow toppled backwards, but righted himself in seconds, before blurring towards Exodus, knocking him further into the stratosphere with an uppercut. Exodus spiralled through the air, until he vanished in a flash of light, only to reappear behind Superman, pinning him in a chokehold. "At the Master's side, you could have helped lead all mutants to glory, yet you choose to side with – _ARRGGHH!_"

Exodus' rant died with a rasp of crimson as Superman snapped his head backwards, clipping Exodus right in the mouth, and then twisted backwards with an elbow-strike, breaking his hold and striking the mad mutant in the temple, sending him staggering away. "For someone who claims not to know Magneto, you've certainly got his old rhetoric down to a tea!" Superman snapped. "Now, just who is this "Master" of yours? Why did he send you after my friends?"

For a moment, Exodus just glowered back at him, before suddenly perking up. "Blink! We must withdraw!" he shouted down to his comrade. "Our task is done!" With that, before Superman could move to stop him, he vanished in another flash.

Only a very terrified Blink was left, quivering as she knelt, unable to even move as her foes surrounded her. Sensing her terror, Jean raised her hands in a soothing gesture. "Hey, it's okay; nobody wants to hurt you…"

Hyperventilating and on the verge of tears, Blink was too panicked to recognize the gesture: forming a large portal beneath herself, she quickly dove into it, teleporting herself away.

As the others began to get back up from the attack, Flash whistled. "Okay, what was _that_ about?"

Retracting her mace, Hawkgirl started to calm. "I agree: that was no run-of-the-mill hostile," she said. "That was a major player; somebody sent those two for a reason!"

Walking over as she held her throat, Dinah spoke up as she overheard them. "Well, what, then? To kick our butts?" Turning, she raised an eyebrow as she eyed Green Arrow. "And what's with the Robin Hood getup?"

As his teammates chuckled, Green Arrow scowled. "Gee, I've never heard _that_, before."

Stifling his chuckles, Superman turned to his Martian comrade. "How about you, J'onn? Did you get anything from Exodus while you were in his head?"

Closing his eyes, J'onn concentrated. "I saw only fragments – his mental shields were surprisingly good," he remarked. "The two of them…they were a distraction for…"

With a sudden gasp, J'onn's eyes snapped open. "_RAVEN!_" he cried, bolting towards the Institute. "We were never the target! He wanted Exodus and Blink to keep us focused away from him while he went after the real target!"

Scott paled. "Who did?" he asked. "J'onn, who did this?" J'onn didn't have time to answer, so he sent it to them telepathically…

…and their blood all ran _cold._

XXXXXXXX

_A few minutes earlier_

Arriving at the Institute several minutes after the others, Piotr "Colossus" Rasputin, clad in a black jacket, blue t-shirt, and black jeans, dismounted the motorcycle that Logan had loaned to him for this occasion, and headed into the Institute, leaving the bike in the garage. As the tall, muscular Russian walked into the living room, he was greeted by a familiar scaled frame. "Ronald," Piotr greeted, smiling pleasantly. "How is the day, comrade?"

Shrugging, Ron "Leviathan" Williams answered, "Same as always, I guess, although the new kids just got here – Madelyn and Logan are chatting about it, right now." He grimaced. "And about other things – I hightailed it out of the main hall the second they did."

Piotr's smile wavered. "An excellent idea." His face went a bit red. "Is…Anita here?"

Ron chuckled. "Yeah, big guy, your girlfriend dropped by, a couple minutes ago. Why?"

Piotr nervously scratched the back of his head. "Just…I have good news."

Ron grinned. "Then what are you waiting for?" he asked, gesturing towards the main hall. Following his cue, Piotr headed towards the main hall, with Ron following.

As they both walked in, Piotr found both Logan and Madelyn in the main hall, as well as Professor Xavier, Raven, Ororo, Hank, Warren "Angel" Worthington III, Kara, and Krypto – obviously, whatever Logan and Madelyn had been talking about, they had since changed topics. Spotting him, Logan raised an eyebrow. "Back already, Russkie?" His tone turned warning. "You better not have dinged my bike."

Piotr shook his head. "_Nyet,_ Logan; your bike is in pristine condition, with full tank of gas."

Logan calmed. "Good man."

Madelyn half-smiled. "A bit protective of our motorcycles, are we?"

Raven snorted. "That's putting it mildly, Pryor."

Ororo smiled warmly. "Well, Piotr?" she asked. "How did your test go?"

Piotr couldn't keep the smile off his face. "I have passed; I now have high school diploma."

Kara beamed with delight. "Piotr, that's _wonderful!_ Congratulations!"

Piotr's face was a bit redder as he scratched his head. "I was hoping to tell Anita first; she said she would help me find good trade-school."

Charles nodded. "We'd all be glad to help you, Piotr…" he began, before he froze, his eyes going wide. "No…"

Seconds later, an enormous shockwave shook the Institute from the outside…specifically, from the _yard._ Logan scowled. "What the hell was _that?_"

By then, Kara's hearing had picked up the specifics. "We've got two hostiles, out there!" she declared, moving to the door, with Krypto following. "I'm going to go help the others..!"

"I believe you have other problems, my dear."

The sound of that cold, oily voice made everyone freeze, forcing them to turn towards the stairwell…where _he_ was casually leaning against it. Warren was the first to respond, flaring his wings. "_Sinister._"

Mr. Sinister smiled – an even _more_ unnerving sight. "Ah, you all remember me; I'm flattered!"

Snarling, Logan popped out his claws. "I _thought_ I smelled something rotten; how'd you get in here, bub?"

Sinister shrugged. "Oh, I've collected on a few investments I've made, some odd years ago."

"So those are _your_ associates, out there!" Beast accused. "What are you after, monster? Why attack us, now?"

"Oh, nothing personal, McCoy – the time was just right," Sinister replied idly. "Which brings me to why I am here." He glanced to Mystique. "I'm afraid your services are required, Ms. Darkholme; do come along."

Mystique scowled. "If you think I'm going to help you, Sinister, you're even _crazier_ than I thought!"

Sinister sighed. "Sad to say, I expected that response," he answered. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid I can't take "no" for an answer; my colleague is quite insistent on it."

Readying telekinetic force-bolts, Madelyn narrowed her eyes. "Then you'll have to disappoint him."

Kara's eyes glowed red as she spoke, while a snarling Krypto bared his teeth. "Why are we wasting time talking to this _Ur-Thrall?_"

Sinister chuckled. "As much as I would love a linguistics lesson, my dear, I mustn't dally too long," he said. "At first glance, I would appear outmatched…but we all know how deceiving looks can be, don't we?"

And with that, he unleashed a TK-pulse, aiming it above their heads at the chandelier, grasping it and _pulling_, sending it crashing down…towards the Professor..!

Her eyes going wide with horror, losing their glow, Kara darted into the air, catching the chandelier before it could crush their mentor. Claws at the ready, Logan rushed at Sinister, with Krypto close behind, but Sinister was ready for them, grabbing them with his TK and sending them flying, slamming Logan into a mid-air Warren, stopping his diving attack, and crashing Krypto into Piotr and Hank. Summoning her powers, Madelyn let loose a massive TK-surge and slammed it into Sinister, sending him flying across the room. Before he could get up, Ororo formed a miniature gale under Ron's feet, using it to launch him like a torpedo; shooting straight at Sinister, Ron slammed into him with a tackle, sending him crashing into a wall, cratering it and leaving him dazed. With Sinister down, Mystique quickly morphed into a bear and closed on him, claws ready to tear him apart…

…exactly as Sinister had planned.

Once Mystique was inches away, Sinister dropped his faint of being stunned and let loose a directed telepathic burst, slicing through Mystique's mental defenses; in seconds, Mystique resumed her natural state as she sagged forward, losing consciousness. Catching his quarry, Sinister stood up, holding the lethargic Mystique upright. "Well, it has been a pleasure, as always, but I'm afraid I must take my leave!" he declared, before he concentrated. '_Clarice, dear? I'm afraid it's time to go._'

Seconds later, a violet flash of light deposited a battered, green-clad, purple-skinned young woman beside Sinister. "Mr. Essex…I-I don't know if I can…"

"I must insist this time, Blink," Sinister scolded, gesturing towards his recovering foes. "Unless we leave _now_, this will all end in failure." Stricken, the girl – Blink – scrunched her eyes, focusing as hard as she could; after a few moments, a violet-energy portal appeared in front of them, flickering rapidly at first, before stabilizing…barely. Once the portal had formed, Sinister walked into it with Mystique, followed by Blink, before the portal closed behind them.

They were gone.

Groaning, Logan picked himself up. "Anybody care to tell me what the hell that was about?"

Dusting himself off while Krypto licked himself, Hank looked grave. "Whatever the reason, he took Raven; knowing his penchant for unethical-at-best experiments, we have to rescue her!"

Mirroring Hank's expression, Charles nodded. "I agree, Hank – whatever he's planning, it made him bold enough to attack us outright. If Sinister was willing to be _that_ brash, his plan _cannot_ bode well," he paused as he sensed the latest arrivals, before he continued, "especially if it has Erik worried…"

XXXXXXXX

As he levitated himself and his transport-pod over Charles' Institute, Magneto grimaced at the sight of the yard. '_No…we are already too late…_'

The student body, as well as Superman and several of the Justice League, were recovering as Magneto set himself and the pod down, before opening it. Seeing him, Superman's eyes narrowed warily. "Lensherr, this isn't the time…"

"It is the _perfect_ time, if I am right about this, Kal-El; we did not come to fight." His expression haunted, Magneto looked around. "What has happened here?"

"A new heavy-hitter tried to use the Institute as a batting-cage," Flash muttered.

Scott nodded. "From what he was ranting about, we thought he was with you, but he said he was working for some new "Master.""

Magneto felt his blood run cold.

At that point, Charles, Logan, the Martian Manhunter, Kara, and Krypto emerged from the Institute, all looking downtrodden, but none more than the Manhunter. "He…he took her…" the Martian murmured.

Alison gasped. "Oh, no…"

Pyro snorted. "'ey! Care to clue us in, sheila?"

Logan scowled. "Sinister," he grumbled. "That sick bastard planned this whole thing to snag Mystique, but for what is anybody's guess."

Kurt went ghostly pale. "M-Mein _Gott_…M-Mother…"

Scowling with fury, Rogue rounded on Magneto. "Whah'd you show up just now, Bucket-Head? Did you _know_ something about this?"

"What, you're blaming _us?_" Quicksilver shot back. "Why the hell aren't you yelling at Super-Dork? If he's supposed to be your guys' golden-boy, why didn't he..?"

"_Enough,_ Pietro!" Magneto thundered. "This solves nothing!"

Charles nodded. "I agree; whatever is going on, Sinister has likely been planning it for months."

Magneto scoffed. ""Months"?" he repeated. "Try _millennia_, Charles."

That revelation silenced the Institute's inhabitants. "_What?_" Kitty cried.

"You picked a weird time to develop a sense of humour, bub," Logan grumbled.

Sabretooth snorted. "Trust me, Short-Stuff: this ain't no joke."

Superman's eyes narrowed. "You _do_ know something."

Magneto nodded. "_Far_ more than I wish to know," he agreed. "But what I say is true: Nathanial Essex – Sinister – is ancient; records of him date back to ancient Egypt…along with his master."

Green Arrow groaned. "Terrific."

"That guy Exodus was going on about some "Master" of his," Ray interjected. "Is this..?"

"…the same master? Undoubtedly," Magneto finished. "Sinister's master – En Sabah Nur – was the very first mutant, and possibly one of the most powerful in history. He very nearly conquered the entire ancient world."

"Then why are there no additional records of him?" Mark asked.

"He was sealed away, millennia ago," Magneto answered. "A band of foreign mages sealed him away: they could not destroy him, so they placed him in a deep sleep."

Flash gulped. "And Sinister's trying to sound the wake-up call."

"But…vhy does he need Mother?" Kurt asked.

"Good question, Kurt," Scott said. "I think we should ask Sinister in _person._"

Superman nodded. "You said Nur was sealed away, Lensherr: _where?_"

"Gizeh; the Great Sphinx, to be exact."

"Then that's where we're going." Drawing his belt-computer, Superman flipped it open and spoke into it. "Superman calling Watchtower: League-wide alert! Patch me through to all League personnel – priority one!" He paused for a few seconds. "Just minutes ago, the Xavier Institute came under attack from a team led by Sinister, who abducted Mystique; based on new intel, we have reason to believe he intends to free a high-level hostile incarcerated with the Great Sphinx of Gizeh! All League personnel are to converge on the Sphinx immediately – we will be arriving within the half-hour! Superman out!"

As Superman spoke, Scott turned to his fellow students. "X-Men, suit up: be ready at the Blackbird in five! X-Force, we'll need you to hold the fort in case Sinister comes back; if he does, lock down the Institute – do _not_ let him escape!"

Bobby nodded. "Got it, Fearless; we'll keep an eye on home base."

Charles looked grave. "Good luck."

Noting the look on his father's face, Quicksilver groaned. "_Tell_ me we're not teaming up with them, again."

Magneto's response was stern. "The fate of all mutants, if not the _world,_ is at stake, Pietro. We cannot afford to cling to old grudges."

Sabretooth scowled. "Just as long as I get paid, Lensherr," he grumbled, fixing a caustic eye at Logan, "and my rates just _tripled._"

Logan snorted. "You're all heart, 'Tooth."

XXXXXXXX

_Great Sphinx_

When Mystique came to, the first thing she noticed was the acrid taste of ancient dust on her tongue, which sent her into an immediate coughing fit. Once her throat was clear, she sat up and looked around, squinting to see through the inky dark, lit only by a handful of torches; the chamber around her was _old_, composed of crumbling bricks, cracked with age, and coated with dust, leaving a permanent musty smell in the air. As far as she could tell, she was alone…

"A-Are you okay?"

Startled, Mystique whirled around, expecting to see another of Sinister's goons, but instead found a cringing, green-clad, purple-skinned young woman. "I-I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you," she murmured. "You…you were just out for a while…"

Putting a hand to her throbbing head, Mystique felt it all come back to her: the Institute under attack, Sinister showing up, and then a blackout. "I'm fine," she answered, before her eyes narrowed. "Once I find Sinister and sharpen my bear-claws on his hide, I'll be _perfect._"

The girl's terrified expression grew worse at that remark. "Y-You can't!" she cried. "He and Exodus are too strong!"

'_So that's the name of Sinister's lackey,_' Mystique noted. "And how do you know that?" she asked, already knowing the answer. "You're working for him, aren't you?"

The girl's head drooped in shame. "I…I had to," she whimpered. "If…If I don't do what he says, he'll put me back in the bad place!"

Mystique's eyebrows shot up. ""Bad place"?"

The girl nodded. "When I realized I was a mutant – when my skin went purple – my parents, they…" she hiccupped tearfully, "…t-they sent me somewhere; somewhere for…f-for "freaks," they said." She sniffled. "Somewhere bad."

Mystique felt her blood start to boil. "And that's where Sinister found you."

The girl nodded. "He was already there; he was the head doctor!" she continued. "That's where Exodus was, too; he was there even before _I_ got there!" She hugged herself. "Sinister told us if we helped him, we could leave; he said we'd be helping all people like us. Exodus jumped at the chance." She sniffled. "I…I just wanna go home…"

Mystique nodded sadly. "What's your name?"

The girl sniffled. "S-Sinister, he…he gave me the name Blink," she began, "b-but my real name is…is Clarice." She sniffled again. "C-Clarice…F-Ferguson…"

"Blink."

The sound of that voice instantly made Clarice – Blink – freeze up, as its owner, a tall, well-built, armorsuit-clad male strode into view, emerging from the dark. "Master Sinister awaits us." Turning to Mystique, he scowled. "You will come with us, Darkholme," he ordered, before generating a TK-pull that roughly yanked Mystique to her feet. Staggering to regain her balance, Mystique barely had time to recover before the newcomer grabbed her by the arm and dragged her further into the shadows, with Blink tagging along behind.

After several minutes, Mystique was dragged into a larger chamber, with a three-layered stone door at the back…with two of the layers open, and two figures in front of it: one was Sinister, and the other was a man seemingly made of stone. Turning towards them, Sinister gave that all-too-chilling toothy smile. "Ah, Ms. Darkholme; so glad you could join us."

Mystique scowled. "As if I had a choice, Essex," she spat. "Now what am I doing here?"

The armor-clad youth bristled. "Mind yourself, shapeshifter; the Master's return is at hand!" he bellowed.

"Calm yourself, Exodus; it was a fair question," Sinister admonished with a smirk. "Although I would think you already knew the answer."

Mystique's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

The stone man snorted. "You've heard the prognostications of that fool Adler, have you not?"

The mention of her old friend Irene – and the prophecy that had started most, if not all, of the past years' mess – made Mystique freeze. "Destiny? What about her?"

"The fool made reference to "the dark," which the star-child – that Kryptonian oaf – would face," the stone man snapped. "The dark does come, Darkholme, but only for those unworthy to see the light of the new age!"

Mystique paled. "Your…your "master"..?"

Sinister nodded. "The very _first_ mutant, Darkholme, and perhaps the most powerful mutant alive," he confirmed. "Born in ancient Egypt, he won the pharaoh's crown and power, only to be sealed away by interlopers from a distant land; he was named En Sabah Nur – The First One – but took a far more suitable name: _End of All Things…_"

His smirk grew. "…or, as more recent languages would say…_Apocalypse._"

Mystique fought to keep herself calm. "That still doesn't explain why you needed me."

The stone man scoffed. "You never wondered why we needed Essex to accost your child, the rogue mutant, this year past?"

Reaching behind the altar, Sinister picked up an orb of brilliant white light. "In order to break the last of the seals that hold Master Apocalypse, we needed an offering of mutant life-energy…which your little Rogue could collect for us," he remarked. "Unfortunately, while the offering itself is sufficient, we lack a conduit to transfer it: one capable of channeling radically different life-energies."

Now the stone mutant smirked. "Such as a shape-shifter," he finished. "The key to the last of Master Apocalypse's seals, Darkholme…is _you._"

Slowly, Mystique shook her head, first in disbelief, then in fury. "_Forget_ it!" she hissed. "As far as I'm concerned, that old fossil of yours can _stay_ buried!"

Exodus looked ready to explode. "Insolent _wretch!_" he roared. "Insult the Master again, and I shall..!"

"Steady, Exodus; we need her alive." Sinister's voice was flat. "We did not expect your cooperation, Darkholme…nor do we _need_ it."

Suddenly, Mystique felt herself get yanked off her feet, as she floated towards the stone door, her left hand, pulled by an unseen telekinetic force, reached towards the stone. Desperately, she tried to pull away, but the TK guiding her – either Sinister's, Exodus', or both – was too strong. As she touched the door, her other hand reached towards the orb, which slowly floated into her grasp.

The very second she touched it, Mystique let out a scream of agony, as liquid fire streamed through her veins, her mutant gift going on autopilot; in mere moments, she shifted into the form of every mutant whose energy filled the orb, until the orb went dark, vanishing, while Mystique collapsed to the floor, equally drained…while the third stone door cracked open, and slid back.

Sinister's smile grew even _more_ terrifying. "It _worked!_"

The stone mutant was ecstatic. "_The Master RISES!_"

The parting of the stone doors revealed a stone chamber filled to the brim with high-tech equipment – almost as complex as Superman's Fortress – that was dark with inactivity…but began to illuminate as the surge of energy from the orb began to flow through it, bringing each console back to life, all the while travelling towards a blue-black-metal, pod-like structure – a high-tech sarcophagus – lying in the center. In seconds, the energy reached the sarcophagus, illuminating it and flowing inside…at which point the sarcophagus _opened._

Mystique instantly felt a chill wash over her. "_No…_"

As cryogenic haze rose out of the sarcophagus, a massively muscled, seven-foot-tall silhouette rose groggily from it, lumbering towards the exit, its footsteps growing steadier with each moment…before he became visible.

He was clad in a gold-inset, white kilt-style lower garment, with sandals on his feet, gold armbands around his muscular arms, his grey skin contrasting the glint of metal, and a pharaoh's headdress upon his head, his face painted with dark blue tattoos…and his eyes, dark and soul-sucking, were hard, and quickly losing their sleepy glaze.

The stone man dropped to his knees. "_My Pharaoh!_"

Scowling at the prostrating mutant, Apocalypse studied him…before his scowl lessened, his booming telepathic voice shaking the room. '_Ozymandias, my old majordormo._'

"Yes, Master! I am honoured you remember!"

Turning to Sinister, Apocalypse fixed him with a similar studying eye. '_And Than'al, my former vizier._'

Sinister smiled, dropping to his knees and lowering his head. "Indeed, my Pharaoh…but I have since chosen the name Sinister."

The rumble of Apocalypse's mental laugh shook the room, chilling the blood. '_A name certain to terrify the weak. I approve._' As he looked around the room, Apocalypse's good humour vanished, if it had ever been there. '_What of my army?_'

Ozymandias looked nervous. "Forgive us, o Pharaoh, but it remains scattered by time," he murmured.

Apocalypse's eyes narrowed. '_Did I not order you to ready a new army in my absence?_' he thundered. '_Did I not order you to make ready for my return?_'

"You did indeed, Master," Sinister said, "yet certain…circumstances forced us to proceed more stealthily than we would have liked."

Apocalypse clenched his fists, which caused the dust in the chamber to stir. '_You will explain yourself, vizier,_' he rumbled, as his hand shot out, grasping Sinister's skull. Sinister gasped, but quickly controlled himself, remaining calm as Apocalypse probed his mind, reducing his reaction to a mere tremble.

After several minutes, Apocalypse let go, satisfied. "_So I see,_" he boomed, in accented English. "_This star-born usurper delayed your efforts._" His eyes narrowed. "_I shall enjoy crushing him._"

Sinister smiled again. "Indeed, my Pharaoh…but as you saw, our time was not spent idly; over the past few years, I have developed many plans – most of which will soon bear fruit…"

"_I have seen, old vizier; your plans are indeed expansive,_" Apocalypse said, his tone warning, "_and most ambitious. I see that much of your nature has not changed in my absence._"

Sinister bowed. "What ambition I have is meant only for your service, my Pharaoh."

"_We shall see._" Turning, Apocalypse glanced at the others. "_And these are..?_"

"A mere sample of what we shall offer in time, o Pharaoh," Ozymandias said.

Sinister nodded his agreement. "Though we offer little quantity, Master, we do offer quality; this young man – called Exodus – is one I handpicked myself for your service!"

Keeping a measuring eye on the kneeling Exodus, Apocalypse strolled forward, his hand raised as he concentrated…and then smiled. "_Exodus…born Bennet du Paris._"

Exodus nodded. "I hear, o Master!"

Apocalypse's smile grew. "_I sense strength in you, young one; strength that will only grow, should you swear fealty to me. What say you?_"

"Command me, Pharaoh, and I will obey!"

Apocalypse's chilling chuckle boomed again. "_Excellent; you shall lead my new army, as my very spearhead – the first thing my foes see in their defiance, and the last thing they see in their death,_" he proclaimed. "_For your loyalty, I thus name you first of my Horsemen: War._" He touched Exodus' shoulder. "_Rise now, War, and kneel to none but I._"

His expression rapturous, Exodus rose to his feet. "_My Pharaoh!_"

Glancing to Blink, Apocalypse scowled. "_And what is __**this?**_"

Sinister sighed. "One of my failures, o Master; I had sensed potential in her, but she lacked the fortitude to wield it."

Having fallen to her knees, Blink trembled with mortal terror. "I-I just…I just want to go home..!"

Apocalypse sneered. "_Pathetic,_" he spat, raising his hand. "_A feeble wretch as yourself has no place in my kingdom…_"

Struggling to her knees, Mystique saw Apocalypse about to strike the trembling Blink; reacting quickly, she forced herself to shift into a snake – a venomous asp – and struck forward, sinking her fangs into Apocalypse's calf-muscle, and then slithering up his back, to bite his shoulder, before leaping off and shifting back, resuming her normal state and shielding Blink with herself. "Don't you _touch_ her!"

Apocalypse howled with pain, but that soon turned to a roar of anger, as his bite-wounds began to heal, closing over, the red of the venom fading to normal grey. Thus healed, Apocalypse turned a furious glare on her. "_WHO __**DARES..?**_"

His smirk dropping to a scowl, Sinister moved to his master's side. "That, my Pharaoh, is the wench we used to open the seals upon your tomb."

Ozymandias matched his comrade's glower. "Not that the wretch knows her place!" he snarled. "It is the future ruler of this world you stand before, shapeshifter! If you wish to live, beg the Master's forgiveness!"

Blink cringed, but Mystique held her ground. "Beg forgiveness from a psychotic coward about to strike a _child?_ I don't think so."

Exodus was livid. "Allow me to smite her for you, Master!" he beseeched. "It will be my gift to you..!"

"_Nay, my Horseman,_" Apocalypse rumbled. "_If this low-born scum wishes to rouse the anger of Pharaoh…then SO __**BE**__ IT!_"

At those words, Mystique felt the air rush out of her lungs as a massive invisible fist crushed her torso in a vice-grip, before Apocalypse's TK smashed her into the ceiling, then the wall, then the _other_ wall, and then the floor. Battered and bruised, Mystique tried to morph into another form – something big enough to stagger the psychotic monster – but she never got the chance, as a telepathic surge, sharp as a dagger, drove itself into her mind, stalling her gift completely and driving her to her knees with pain. A cruel smirk on his face, Apocalypse gestured, telekinetically pulling Mystique towards him, and grasping her by the throat. "_Your Pharaoh thus commands you, wretch: beg forgiveness._"

Coughing, Mystique glared at him. "_Go to hell!_"

Apocalypse frowned. "_So you choose death. Very well._" At that, his grip on Mystique's throat began to tighten, worsening her cough…but that quickly went slack again, as alarm-klaxons started blaring from the consoles in the tomb. "_We have intruders; the exterior defenses have activated._"

Ozymandias bristled. "The Kryptonian and his ilk have found us!" he exclaimed. "Master, we must evacuate..!"

"_Apocalypse runs from no man, Ozymandias, be they of this earth or any other,_" Apocalypse rebuked. "_If this star-born usurper wishes to meet me in battle, then I shall honour him with a death by my hand._" Sneering, he turned his gaze back to Mystique. "_And as for this filth…_"

He never finished his sentence, except with another telepathic wave; instead of causing pain and stalling her gift, however, this surge seemed to activate it. Confused, Mystique felt her body start to shift…and grow _cold_, starting with her feet. Looking down, she felt horror grip as she saw her body slowly turning to _stone._ Frantic, she tried to stop the change, but she couldn't; Apocalypse was in full control. She desperately tried to wriggle free, but couldn't break the hold of Apocalypse's iron fingers on her neck.

She stone had reached her chest when she saw Blink, still cowering. She had only enough breath left for one warning. "_Clarice, RUN!_"

As Mystique's lungs grew stony, Apocalypse laughed, fixing a cruel eye on Blink. "_Do you think you can flee me, weakling? There is NO place left to flee that I cannot conquer, in time,_" he boomed. "_So run if you will, and bring with you this message!_"

His smile was even _more_ terrifying than Sinister's. "_The Age of Apocalypse has begun._"

As the stone reached her face, the last thing Mystique saw, out of the corner of her eye, was a flare of violet light…and then, oblivion.

XXXXXXXX

_Egyptian airspace, a few minutes earlier_

The arid silence of the Sahara Desert skies was little comfort to Superman as he flew across Egypt towards the Great Sphinx; to his right were J'onn, Green Lantern, Power Girl, Supergirl, and Krypto, with the rest of the League in the Javelin-1 behind him, along with the X-Men in the Blackbird…

…and Magneto levitating to his left, with his Acolytes' transport-pod.

Superman knew he shouldn't have felt as uneasy about working with Lensherr – he and his Acolytes had assisted them against the invasion of Earth, and against Zod – but this latest mention of Adler's prophecy had unnerved him…

"What's wrong?"

The voice of his _taushi_ stirred him from his thoughts, prompting Superman to look to his right, where he saw Power Girl moving alongside him, concern across her lovely face. "You're brooding, again."

Superman managed a chuckle, amazed – as he always was – at how well Alison knew him. "I think it's warranted, given the circumstances."

Letting some of her anxiety seep through, Power Girl chewed the side of her lip. "Yeah, when _Magneto_ gets freaked out about a bad-guy, you pay attention," she agreed, "especially since the last time, it was Zod."

"It's more than that, Alia," Superman said. "You know about the "prophecy" that Adler's been going on about."

"The one that's been hanging over your head since you joined the Institute?"

Superman nodded. "It made Magneto come after me, then it brought Doom and exposed everyone, _then_ it predicted Zod turning…and now _this._"

Inching closer, Power Girl laced her fingers with his left hand. "From what I heard, baby, it sounded like this is the _last_ thing it has to throw at us," she cooed. "We stop this guy Nur, and we put it to rest for _good._"

Like magic, her words brought a smile to his face. "How is it you always manage to fix my mood?"

Power Girl giggled. "_Duh._ I'm your girlfriend; it's my job!"

A bit further away, Green Lantern half-chuckled. "If you two could stop flirting for a second, would one of you scan ahead? We're here!" His expression turned grave. "This is usually when missions start going to hell in a handbasket."

No sooner than he'd spoken, the clouds ahead of them cleared, revealing the ancient stone shape of the Great Sphinx, far below. Sighting the Sphinx, Magneto grimaced. "Stay alert!" he warned. "I am detecting a spike in electromagnetic activity from the Sphinx!"

His eyes flaring electric-blue, Superman swept the Sphinx with his vision. "I'm not seeing any…hold on." As ancient machinery began to move beneath the stone before his eyes, he called out a warning. "Guys, evasive action! Something down there's powering up..!"

As if to emphasize his warning, dozens of panels inched open on the Sphinx's stone skin, revealing an equal number of high-tech defence-turrets…all of which began to open fire, setting the air alight with deadly blue-green rays, while catapult-like turrets lobbed enormous metal projectiles into the air. Darting forward, Superman caught one projectile, stopping its arc towards the Blackbird, but a laser-beam took him square in the chest before he could throw it back, staggering him for a few seconds. '_Man, these things hit hard…_'

Seeing several more projectiles arc their way, Magneto gestured towards them, wincing as he strained with all his might…and stopped them in midair, though his hold on his transport pod started to waver. "We must land, immediately!"

Raising a ring-barrier to deflect several lasers, Green Lantern was one step ahead. "Lantern to Javelin-1 and Blackbird: hit the dirt, fast! We don't know how long we can keep the heat off you!"

As the Javelin and the Blackbird dove for the deck, followed by the transport orb, Superman, recovering quickly, shot forth and grabbed another metal sphere, using it to block several incoming lasers before hurling it back at _twice_ its initial speed – the sphere rocketed towards the Sphinx…and spanged against an invisible barrier that extended millimetres from the Sphinx's skin, sending the sphere flying away. Following his cue, Magneto sent his captured spheres racing back to the Sphinx…only to again collide with the same barrier, doing no damage. "They've activated some kind of energy-field!" Magneto spat. "If Nur's defences are this active, we mustn't have much time!"

Superman thought fast, as he dropped to the ground, his teammates following, prompting Magneto to do the same. With their targets now lower, the Sphinx's defences started to drop their arcs, forcing Power Girl and Green Lantern to raise defensive barriers, while the rest of the League, the X-Men, and the Acolytes disembarked, hurrying to rejoin them. "Okay, the more time we waste here, the more time Sinister has to wake up Nur, and the more danger Mystique is in!"

Cyclops caught on. "Two-pronged attack?"

"Bingo!" Superman confirmed. "Those of us able to either take hits, dodge them, or block them will stay out here, and keep Sinister focused on us; Lantern, Flash, Supergirl, Krypto, Wonder Woman, Power Girl, Storm, Wolverine, Madelyn, Magneto and I will stay in view! The rest of you will sneak past, find Mystique, and shut down whatever Sinister's trying to…"

"_Hold_ it!" Quicksilver shouted. "Putting aside the fact that we can't get past that shield, I am _not_ taking orders from you, Super-Dork!"

Batman's tone was positively frigid. "It's that or stay out and deal with the outer defences, Maximoff."

Quicksilver scowled.

"Thought so."

Nightcrawler sent a worried gaze towards the Sphinx. "Much as I hate to say, Pietro has a point," he said. "How do ve get inside vith zat shield up?"

"Basic shield-generator physics, Kurt!" Superman said. "Tax a shield at multiple points, and the generator just ups its power-output…but tax it all at a _single_ point…"

Supergirl caught on. "…and the generator diverts existing shield-energy to that point, weakening the overall shield!" she exclaimed. "Siryn might be able to teleport the others through!"

Superman nodded. "Siryn, as soon as that shield starts going down, teleport the infiltration-team through!" he instructed. "Power Girl, Phoenix, J'onn, keep us covered; Flash, you're running interference; Storm, chances are that defence-grid's using thermal tracking, so a little snowstorm should help; Kara, Lantern, and I will go for the shield! Let's _move!_"

Instantly, the Flash was in motion, a crimson blur over the sands as he raced towards the Sphinx, prompting the defence-turrets to start firing at him, at which point he darted to the side, staying just a few seconds ahead of their shots. While Flash distracted most of the turrets, Storm gestured to the sky, summoning dozens of dark clouds overhead; in a matter of seconds, the temperature dropped considerably, as a scattering of tiny snowflakes began to float down from the clouds…and the shots of the turrets began to widen, missing Flash's steps by larger and larger margins.

Even with Flash's distraction and Storm's thermal cloak, many of the turrets weren't fooled, their shots splashing against the combined barriers of Phoenix, Power Girl, and the Manhunter, but _these_ shots were manageable, as opposed to the earlier torrent of laser-fire. Their paths clear, Superman, Supergirl, and Green Lantern opened up with eye-rays and a ring-beam on the Sphinx, their beams impacting the shield within inches of each other, but as they converged their attacks on one single spot, the surrounding shield started to condense…while the rest of the shield thinned, lightly flickering.

After several seconds, Superman saw their chance. "Siryn, _NOW!_" With a quick nod, Siryn conjured a cloud of emerald haze around herself and her comrades, teleporting them away, through the weakened shield.

As they let up on their combined assault, Green Lantern took a deep breath. "Damn, that thing's tough!"

Superman nodded gravely. "It's putting out almost as much energy as the Fortress' shield…"

Phoenix gulped. "Okay, I do _not_ like the sound of that."

"Neither do I," Superman agreed. "Hopefully, once the others shut Sinister down, we can figure out…"

A sudden flash of light interrupted him, depositing Exodus on the sand in front of them…along with one other.

As he looked at the Egyptian-style-clad, blue-skinned, muscular newcomer, Superman felt a chill grip him, his unease only amplified by his link to Power Girl, who reflexively drew closer to him. "K-Kal…"

Phoenix looked visibly ill. "Guys, I am getting some _major_ telepathic waves off of that blue guy," she reported, barely managing to keep from falling over. "I feel like I'm gonna _hurl_ just from being near him!"

Magneto was dead-white. "_No…_"

Reigning in his unease, Superman steadied himself, ready for the worst…as he realized who the newcomer had to be. '_It's never easy, is it?_'

XXXXXXXX

As the green haze of her transport spell faded into the darkened halls of the Sphinx, Siryn leaned against the nearest stone wall, taking several deep breaths. "Remind me…to tell Kal…to _never_ ask that of me again!" she panted. "It was like…running through a vat of _molasses!_"

With only pitch black around them, Cyclops grimaced. "Noted," he said. "Hey, Pyro, a little light?"

Pyro snorted. "_Oi!_ What's the bloody magic word?"

Rogue scowled. "Turn on a damn light so ya can see the scorpion on yer pants."

"_CRIKEY!_" In less than an instant, twin fireballs appeared in Pyro's hands, illuminating the chamber…and revealing the Australian youth hopping around like a madman, until he realized he'd been duped. "Oh, real funny, sheila."

His expression uneasy, Nightcrawler looked about the chamber. "Oh, man…how many mummy-monster movies have started vith a scene like this…"

Shadowcat gulped. "Not helping, Kurt..!"

"_Pfft._ You X-Geeks are just a buncha babies," Quicksilver scoffed. "Let's just get moving, nail that guy Nur's coffin shut, stomp Sinister, and call it a day!" He turned to dart off…

…only to get snagged by a web-line as Spider-Man yanked him back. "Are you _mental_, Twinkle-Toes?" he exclaimed. "Did you even _watch_ any monster-movies? Splitting up is the _last_ thing we should do!"

Batman's tone never wavered from its flat baritone. "Spider-Man's right; before that shield went up, the Javelin took a radar-scan of the Sphinx's layout," he said. "There are over two dozen dead-ends in the next fifty meters alone, Maximoff; you run off, and you'll be wandering through this tomb for the _next_ few millennia."

Aquaman looked nauseous. "Pietro's right about one thing, Bats; we need to get moving," he panted. "We likely don't have much time, and the heat in here isn't a big improvement on the desert."

Sabretooth scoffed. "I wondered what was smellin' like rotting fish." His nose tested the air. "If you chumps are done running your mouths, we got company – there's a _fresh_ scent-trail running through here, and it ends just a few feet ahead."

The Martian Manhunter's eyes went white as he scanned ahead with his telepathy. "I am not detecting any significant psychic resonance; whoever it is, they are either non-telepathic…or they can cloud their thoughts."

Her eyes narrowed, the Scarlet Witch clenched her fists, which glowed blue-black with her hex-bolts. "Like Sinister?"

Sabretooth sniffed again. "Well, he's been here; I'd recognize that fucked-up stink anywhere," he grumbled. "It's old, though…"

"…which means we can't rule him out," Cyclops finished. "Everyone stay alert; if it _is_ Essex, there's no telling what he could have set up, in here." He nodded to Sabretooth. "Lead the way, Creed." Sabretooth just glowered back at him, but he started to walk deeper into the catacombs, with the others following close behind.

After about a minute, a faint sound began to echo through the musty air. "Uh…guys?" Shadowcat asked. "Do you hear that?"

Keeping a hand on her mace's handle, Hawkgirl nodded. "It sounds like…_crying?_"

Sabretooth sniffed again. "Whatever it is, it's just around this corner," he muttered, pointing his thumb towards a nearby branch in their path. His expression wary, Cyclops inched towards the corner, his hand on his visor, as he peered around…

…and found the violet-skinned girl – Exodus' companion, Blink – huddled by a wall, curled up as she quietly sobbed into her knees. The sound of his footsteps drew Blink's gaze up towards him, causing her to gasp, freezing. "A-Are you…did you c-come to…to kill me?"

The sheer emptiness in her voice saddened Cyclops. "As a general rule, that isn't how we operate."

Quicksilver arched an eyebrow. "Friend of yours, Summers?"

Shadowcat looked wary. "Not exactly, Pietro – she's one of the goons Sinister used to go after the Institute."

Pyro grinned savagely, as his fires burned brighter. "Then you sods wouldn't be adverse to a little barbecue…"

He froze as he felt an arrowhead touch the back of his neck, quivering from the tension of Green Arrow's bowstring. "Turn the gas down, cue-meister; nobody here's getting murdered just 'cause you feel like it."

Pyro scowled as he dimmed his fires. "Bloody killjoy."

Cyclops turned back to the tearful Blink. "Where's Mystique?" he pressed, but that just made her cry harder. "Can you take us to her?"

Blink sniffled, but she nodded. "Y-Yeah…b-but you won't like it…"

Gambit spoke up. "Hold de phone, Fearless; Gambit hate t' play devil's advocate here, but 'ow we supposed t' know dat de _fille_ be on de level?"

Spyke nodded, keeping a pair of wrist-spikes at the ready. "He's got a point, Scott; this sounds like _just_ the kind of sick-twisted trap Sinister would come up with!" he agreed. "She's already gone after us, before..!"

"I _had_ to!" Blink wailed. "If I didn't do what he said, he'd have put me _back_ there!"

That got everyone's attention. "Back _where?_" Hawkgirl asked.

Blink was almost hyperventilating. "T-The…the b-bad place!" And to punctuate her statement, she brushed her hair to the side, revealing the side of her neck…and the wattle of scar-tissue blotched there, around an injection-site. "He…h-he _did_ stuff to me and Exodus; Exodus got more, 'cause he was there longer than me – than _anyone_ else – and it probably made him…like he is now." She whimpered. "The stuff he did…it _changed_ me."

Rogue looked ready to cry. "Oh mah _Gawd…_"

His expression sadly sympathetic, J'onn reached out with his thoughts – the gentlest of psychic probes, looking for only a faint impression – and then pulled back. "We can trust her," he confirmed. "She knows nothing of Sinister's plans."

Cyclops nodded, before turning back to Blink. "We can help you," he promised. "Come with us, and we'll help you, I _promise_; right now, though, we need to find our friend. Can you take us to her?" Blink trembled for a moment, before she waved her hand, forming a violet rift beneath everyone's feet, causing them all to fall through a seemingly endless corridor of purple energy…

…and then abruptly land on another stone floor.

Groaning, Quicksilver dusted himself off. "A little _warning_, next time?"

Looking around, J'onn spotted a mass of stone on the ground nearby…and his face went pale as he recognized it. "No…_no!_" he cried, rushing towards it. "Oh, H'ronmeer, _no!_"

Rogue and Nightcrawler were close behind him; seeing the petrified form of Mystique, Nightcrawler dropped to his knees. "_M-Mother…_" he gasped. "_How?_ How did zhis happen?"

Blink looked at the floor. "She…she tried to save me…" she whimpered. "But she couldn't get away…and he was so _strong..!_"

Cyclops' eyes narrowed. "Are you saying _Sinister_ did this to her?"

"No. She isn't." Batman's tone was flat, his visage coldly determined. "She's saying that we're already too late." He gestured to the open tomb ahead of them, filled with high-tech devices. "Nur is already active."

"Brilliant deduction."

The sound of that voice made Blink cringe as Sinister walked out of the shadows, accompanied by a man seemingly made of stone. "I see the title of "World's Greatest Detective" is well-earned."

The stone man sneered. "Pity it will do you little good."

J'onn's eyes blazed white with fury. "What have you done to Raven, monster?"

"Why, nothing, my dear Martian," Sinister answered. "We merely needed her to, so to speak, "catalyze" Master Apocalypse's awakening."

"And then the wretch had the audacity to defy our Pharaoh!" the stone man snapped. "It is his wrath that you now see!"

Siryn looked at Mystique's petrified form with barely-controlled horror. "Lovely fellow."

Sinister sighed. "While Master Apocalypse's temper is impressive, so is his mercy for those who vow loyalty to him," he continued. "On his behalf, I offer this one chance for you to save yourselves: swear fealty to him, and you may be spared; as mutants, you X-Men will surely receive positions of honour in his new army, as will the powered members of the Justice League…but as for you humans?" He shook his head. "I would not get my hopes up."

Cyclops glared at him. "_Forget_ it, Essex!"

Green Arrow aimed his bow at Sinister. "You and your "Pharaoh" can go jump in the _Nile_, as far as we're concerned!" he added. "Especially since we'll be _punting_ your whacked-out butts there and back!"

Sinister rolled his eyes. "You cannot say I didn't try."

The stone mutant's eyes narrowed. "If you wretched whelps choose death, then so _be_ it!"

Sabretooth growled as he bared his clawed fingers. "For somebody outnumbered, you two nuts are makin' awful big talk."

Sinister's smile was ironic, as if he were privy to some terrible joke, which his arched eyebrow only added to. "Oh, _are_ we?" Calmly reaching to the wall, he touched one stone tile…and depressed it.

In the tomb beyond, the myriad consoles whirred, their lights growing brighter, as dozens of panels opened throughout the antechamber, depositing dozens of robotic drones – all scarab-like, each half the size of a grown human – into the chamber, their spindly legs ending in deadly blades, just as sharp as their snapping metallic jaws.

Gambit groaned. "Y' were _sayin'_, 'Tooth?"

Cyclops' mind was instantly in motion, his hand darting to his visor. "Siryn, Scarlet Witch, Arrow, Aquaman, form a perimeter around Mystique!" he instructed. "Nightcrawler, 'port Beast and Spider-Man to that tomb; chances are, that tech in there can shut these bugs down! Everyone else, buy them some _time!_"

As Cyclops opened his visor, blasting a deadly red force-beam into the robo-scarabs, Green Arrow made a beeline for the petrified Mystique, drawing and firing a trio of arrows, piercing three drones in their eyes, sending them into fits of robotic shrieking, as the burst acid-capsules wrought havoc with their optic circuitry. Siryn was next to reach their frozen comrade, reappearing in a green cloud as she summoned a flail-like bolt of electricity in her hand, before snapping it at the nearest drone; overloading in seconds, the drone was blasted apart, while the lightning-flail leapt to its next target, and then to two more, dwindling in voltage with each leap. As Siryn's spell began to wane, Scarlet Witch conjured a hex-field, which instantly filled the chamber with a low-level fog, revitalizing both Siryn's attack and their Atlantean comrade; his fatigue banished by contact with water, Aquaman grabbed the nearest robo-scarab, wincing as its blade-claws scrabbed at him, before hurling it like a shot-put, smashing it through three more of the swarm, clearing enough space for himself and the others to encircle Mystique.

By then, some of the robotic swarm had realized they were in trouble; popping open panels in their abdomen, the wiser scarabs revealed high-tech laser-cannons, and began to fill the air with laser-fire, forcing the Martian Manhunter to encircle himself and the others with a telekinetic shield, while Spyke rapidly grew and fired one bone-blade after another into the swarm, piercing their armour and felling one or two, but never enough to stop the rest. Giving Shadowcat a quick tap to copy her powers, Rogue dashed into the swarm with Kitty, as they phased through about a dozen scarabs; the instant they contacted the two mutant girls, the drones began to spark and convulse…but instead of collapsing, the drones steadied themselves, slowly plodding on, keeping up the assault, their seizures growing gradually weaker, to Shadowcat's dismay. "Uh, guys? My phasing-trick doesn't seem to work that well, this time!"

Focusing, Avalanche readied a tremor. "Leave it to me, Kitty; I'm _rocking_ these bugs..!"

Letting fly a trio of electrostatic Batarangs with deadly accuracy, Batman closed on the nearest drone he'd blinded, throwing it into another, before vaulting over a third, grabbing its neck and ripping out critical servos, finishing by turning to Avalanche. "You do that, Alvers, and you'll bring the entire Sphinx down on our heads," he growled, barely breathing hard. He looked over his shoulder. "Maximoff: Shadowcat and Rogue slowed those drones enough for you; take them out."

Quicksilver scowled. "_Don't_ make a habit out of giving me orders, Bats!" he snapped, before he darted into the cluster of stunned scarabs, bowling over one after another at rocket-speeds…until one drone, having since recovered, dropped to the floor, covering itself with its shell, and causing Quicksilver to trip over it, sending him stumbling across the stone floor. Rising back up, the scarab scuttled towards the dazed Quicksilver, raising its deadly claws…but stopped as a glowing playing-card – the Ace of Spades – flicked towards it, wedging itself in its shoulder-joint.

Perplexed, the scarab followed the card's trajectory…right back to the smirking face of Gambit. "What's dat y' say, _mon ami?_ "Hit me"?" And with that, the card detonated, blasting the drone apart, while Gambit shrugged. "_Desole, monsieur;_ de house wins."

With a feral roar, Sabretooth leapt into the swarm, his lethal claws ripping and tearing into the armoured bodies of the scarabs, ignoring their bladed limbs as they hacked at him, never ceasing until he was dripping red, his wounds being torn open as fast as his healing factor could close them. Growing angrier with each blow, Sabretooth unleashed a wide claw-slash, driving several of his attackers back…only to be taken by surprise as one drone, having since climbed up the wall and onto the ceiling, dropped onto his head, raking its claws into his skull, slicing off chunks of scalp. Before it could do even more serious damage, however, it was melted into slag by a stream of flame – which also seared off half of Sabretooth's face – accompanied by a crazed laugh. "Now this is _way_ better than fryin' ants with a magnifyin' glass, mate!" Pyro crowed, unleashing another flame-pillar into the swarm, melting away half of the survivors.

As his healing factor caught up with his injuries, leaving him blood-soaked but otherwise fine, Sabretooth glowered at his teammate. "Watch yer goddamn aim, Allerdyce! You damn near fried my face off!"

"Oh, lay off, 'Tooth! Ain't like you can't grow another – _BLIMEY!_" Pyro's retort was silenced as one scarab leapt at him – _through_ J'onn's shield – and severed his fuel-lines with its claws. "Oh, bugger…"

Before the scarab could press its advantage, its processors were shattered as Hawkgirl's Nth Metal mace all but imploded its head with her swing. "Did your _brain_ melt with those drones, Pyro?" she snapped, pointing at a wavering J'onn. "He's _fire-sensitive!_ Your little pyromaniac routine all but cut his shield-strength in _half!_"

Pyro flinched. "Well…how the bloody hell was _I_ supposed to know?"

Ignoring Pyro, Hawkgirl glanced to the swarm – most of its numbers were gone, but more were starting to emerge from the walls. "J'onn! We can hold things here for now!" she called. "Beast and Nightcrawler need backup! _Go!_" Nodding, the Manhunter lowered his barrier, before flying straight at the altar, his eyes glowing white as Mystique's frozen form crossed his gaze.

While the others kept the drones occupied, Nightcrawler's sulphurous cloud deposited himself, Beast, and Spider-Man in the burial chamber. Glancing to the empty high-tech sarcophagus, Spider-Man gulped. "Oh, great: sci-fi/horror-movie-meets-mummy/horror-movie." Turning towards one console, his unease turned to scientific curiosity. "Still, I'd like to know where this guy Apoc picked up his hardware – last I checked, BestBuy wasn't incorporated in ancient Egypt."

Beast was already ahead of him, in that regard, poring over the readout screen of another console. "I admit ancient Egyptian isn't my forte," he remarked, "but I am more than willing to bet that _these_ symbols are not Egyptian."

Glancing over Beast's shoulder, Nightcrawler's eyes went wide. "So…so zhen vhere did it come from?"

"Right now, Kurt, the more relevant issue is figuring out how to shut it down!" Beast exclaimed. "If it had been encoded with hieroglyphics, we at least had a _chance_ of disabling it; as it stands, we'll need a professional linguist just to get a handle on the OS..!"

Spider-Man chuckled. "Actually, Doc McCoy, there _is_ a way to toss in a monkey-wrench, here!" he reported. "One that any video-gamer worth his arcade-quarters would know!" He flexed his fingers. "Button-mash the _hell_ out of…_incoming!_"

Spider-Man's spider-sense flared just moments before the TK-surge ripped into the burial chamber; Spider-Man was able to leap clear, but Beast and Nightcrawler were slammed into the rear stone wall. His eerie smile replaced by a frown, Sinister shook his head. ""Button-mashing"?" he repeated. "No respect for science at _all._" He glanced to his comrade. "Ozymandias?"

His fists clenched, the stone mutant – Ozymandias – stormed towards them. "You _dare_ interfere with your Pharaoh's sacred relics, wretched interlopers?"

Taking careful aim, Spider-Man splatted a web-glob across Ozymandias' face, before leaping into a flying kick. "Yeah, in case you read any history books in the past thousand-odd years, Rocky, the whole "pharaoh" system went the way of the dinosaur a _long_ time – _OW!_" His quip turned into a yelp as his foot impacted solidly with Ozymandias' granite torso, sending him stumbling back. Recovering fast, he leapt into a haymaker by pure reflex…only to realize how _monumentally_ stupid that was when his knuckles impacted Ozymandias' stone face. '_Okay, then, it's come to THIS!_' Rearing his good foot back, he kicked _low_, right between Ozymandias' legs…

…only to hear the loud click-sound of two pool-balls knocking together.

Spider-Man's eyes went wide, his incredulity drowning out the pain in his foot. "_No WAY..!_"

With a roar of fury, Ozymandias tore off the web on his face, before levelling Spider-Man with a punch, the sheer force of his stone fist slamming Spider-Man into the wall. Coughing, Spider-Man got back up. "Nice try, Boulders-for-Brains, but _I've_ gotten the snot kicked out of me by _Zod!_" As Ozymandias came at him again, he fired two web-lines, sling-shooting himself at the stone mutant…only to flip _over_ him and kick him in the back, adding to his momentum and sending him smashing into the stone wall, head-first.

As Ozymandias tried comically to pull his head out of the wall, Spider-Man grinned behind his mask. "And compared to Big Crazy Z, you're nothing special!"

With Ozymandias disabled, Beast and Nightcrawler had the time they needed to recover; getting up, Nightcrawler vanished into a sulphurous cloud, reappearing behind Sinister to deliver a leap-kick, but a telekinetic fist grabbed his tridactyl foot, twisting and smashing him to the floor. "Oh, come now, Mr. Wagner; did you really think such an obvious attack would fool me?" Sinister chided.

Coughing, Nightcrawler chuckled. "Nein, Herr Sinister; I just vanted you focused on _me!_"

At those words, Sinister felt Beast tackle into him, twisting him into a judo-throw and slamming him to the ground, his calm teacher's demeanor replaced by barely-restrained _fury._ "Was what you did to Alison not _enough_, you animal?" he roared. "How many more like Blink _are_ there?"

Sinister just smiled. "Why, Doctor McCoy, I thought _you_ of all people would understand!" he said cordially. "I once looked over some of your old notes on your suppression-serum; an interesting read, to be sure, if a bit naïve." His smile grew. "_Unlike_ you, though, I _embraced_ my mutation from the start…and you now see the results."

As a spike of agony lanced through his mind, Beast leapt back with a howl, allowing Sinister to get up, brushing himself off. "Sadly, using oneself as a test-subject can only go so far, and the results are hardly generalizable; to attain any sort of validity, I had to replicate similar findings," he added. "Still, one can't make an omelette without cracking some eggs." His smile grew darker. "Speaking of cracking, let's see just what's inside that head of yours, shall we?"

For a moment, Beast felt the spike in his head sharpen, driving deeper…until a massive wall rose up in his mind, blocking Sinister's probe completely. Confused, Sinister paused…until he turned to find the Martian Manhunter standing behind him, eyes flared white as he telekinetically slammed Essex against the wall. "Whatever you did to Raven, you will _undo_ it, Sinister!"

Sinister coughed. "You're asking…the wrong person, my Martian friend," he wheezed. "Only Apocalypse can undo Darkholme's fate."

His arm stretching like taffy, J'onn grabbed Sinister by the throat and pulled him forward, to slam him into the opposite wall. '_What is he planning?_' he telepathically roared. '_What does that monster intend to do?_'

Sinister mentally chuckled. '_My good Manhunter, you can't really expect me to just tell you, do you?_'

J'onn's eyes narrowed. '_No. I do not._' And with that, he unleashed his full telepathic fury on Sinister, fully intent on getting the information they needed, even if he had to reduce this monster to a babbling heap.

As Sinister howled with pain, J'onn easily battered through his outer guards…but as he breached Essex's mind, instead of finding the repository of Sinister's memories, he found complexity upon complexity: layers and layers of mental compartments, each isolated from the others, with every connection closed off. '_What..?_'

With a laugh of triumph, Sinister headbutted J'onn, driving him back. "I suspected I might encounter that marvelous Martian brain of yours again, so I took precautions!" he chortled. "A bit of cognitive renovation, if you will: a nip here, a tuck there, and now my thoughts are incomprehensible – and thus unreadable – whenever my mind is breached!" Brushing himself off, he turned away. "While I would love to collect more data, I am afraid we must be going – _URK!_"

He was cut off as a recovered J'onn snagged him with another telekinetic chokehold. "Do you think _any_ of us will let you walk away after this, Essex?"

Coughing, Sinister tried to break loose, but to no avail. "F-Fascinating!" he wheezed. "It would seem that my telekinesis still has room for improvements in comparison to yours!" He still managed a smirk. "Under normal circumstances, I might suspect our egress might be more difficult…but these are _hardly_ normal circumstances."

Before J'onn could press him for more answers, the Sphinx began to rumble, the ancient stone shaking from its very foundations. Pausing as he ripped apart one last drone, Sabretooth glowered at Avalanche. "Alvers, you dumbass punk!"

"Hey, it's not me!" Avalanche defended.

Glancing towards the burial chamber, Cyclops' eyes went wide. "He's right, Creed! _Look!_"

As Cyclops spoke, the myriad machines in the chamber began to whirr, fully coming to life, while a panel opened above the sarcophagus, revealing a tunnel leading to open sky, allowing the sarcophagus to rise up out of the chamber. Still in the Manhunter's choke, Sinister chuckled. "I believe Master Apocalypse is quite through toying with your friends!" he mocked. "Now, if you all would care to remain as his prisoners, that's your choice; regardless, we'll be taking our leave, now."

And he punctuated his remark with one small TK-burst, impacting another wall-tile and depressing it, causing the doors of the burial chamber to begin to slowly close. His eyes wide with horror, J'onn dropped Sinister, before grabbing Beast, Nightcrawler, and Spider-Man, telekinetically flinging them out of the chamber, as he quickly followed them, moments before the door sealed shut.

With the Sphinx shuddering around them, Cyclops turned to Siryn. "Anita, can you get us out of here?"

Siryn sighed. "If you can stand me being fairly useless for the next hour."

Looking around the trembling room, Shadowcat gulped. "I think we can all live with that!"

Stricken, J'onn gathered the petrified Mystique into his arms. "We can't just _leave_ her like this..!"

"We're _not_, J'onn!" Hawkgirl said. "We'll get another chance!"

Green Arrow nodded. "If we don't haul tail out of here _now_, it won't matter!" J'onn still looked grave, but he nodded his agreement, as Siryn waved her hand, conjuring emerald haze around them, straining as she 'ported them to safety.

XXXXXXXX

The arid desert wind only intensified the tension building as Superman and his team stared down Exodus and his new comrade.

His dark eyes narrowed with disdain, the newcomer spoke. "_Kryptonian._" His voice was deep, rumbling, and accented, clearly unused to any language but Egyptian.

Superman glared back. "En Sabah Nur, I presume."

Flash chuckled nervously. "Guy doesn't look too bad for, what, 5000?"

En Sabah Nur's rumbling chuckle was anything but friendly. "_Impertinence; it has been long since any dared speak to me so._" His eyes narrowed. "_My old vizier told of you and yours, but seeing it is another matter._" His lip curled in a sneer. "_In my ascent, the old Pharaoh sent entire armies against me: legions upon legions of soldiers, cavalry, and armed chariots…yet THIS is all that musters against me now? A ragtag band of outcasts? An army of misfits? CHILDREN?_"

Supergirl's fists clenched. "It's better than being the one about to get his butt _kicked_ by "ragtags and children," you primitive _psychopath._"

Exodus looked ready to blow his top. "Miserable alien _wretch!_ You _dare_ insult Master Apocalypse?"

En Sabah Nur – Apocalypse – raised his hand. "_Be silent, my Horseman. Your Pharaoh speaks._" As Exodus went quiet, Apocalypse looked back to them. "_I grow weary of this insolence, whelps. You have but once chance for mercy: swear loyalty to me, and you shall be spared._"

Suppressing a gulp, Power Girl folded her arms. "It's official: every major mutant/Earth-born lunatic we've met has asked that."

Green Lantern readied his ring. "No dice, psycho."

Her lasso at the ready, Wonder Woman nodded. "Neither we nor this world will _ever_ submit to you, Nur!"

Apocalypse arched an eyebrow. "_You are quite sure?_"

"I think you heard," Superman shot back. "This world outgrew your brand of tyranny a _long_ time ago."

At that, Apocalypse laughed long and hard, booming out across the sand. "_You call me tyrant, fool?_" he sneered, once he'd calmed enough. "_You say this feeble world has changed, yet I see no such change; I still see a world of weaklings, fit only to serve the strong!_" He smirked. "_Had I been weak, I would have perished, yet with the desert and all the gods against me, I LIVED! I alone survived the scourge of time; the maddening solitude of my confinement did not deter my will! I am as much a force of nature as these desert sands themselves!_" His smirk dropped into a scowl. "_I am no tyrant, alien fool; I merely AM._"

Flash shook his head. "And he's lost it."

Ignoring the remark, Apocalypse pointed at Superman. "_Tell me, Kryptonian: who are you to stand against me? You are not of this planet; you HAVE no claim here._" He glanced to the others. "_Who are ANY of you?_"

Her eyes glowing, Storm readied her winds, lightning crackling across her fingers. "I hardly think that matters."

Superman nodded. "Some of us may have been born here; some of us haven't," he said, "but we all agree on one thing: this is _our_ world; _our_ home."

His eyes glowed red. "And we're _not_ going to let you ruin it, Nur."

Apocalypse smirked. "_"Let me," whelp?_" he sneered. "_You __**cannot**__ stop me! Once my army is raised, this world shall tremble before Apocalypse!_"

Snarling, Wolverine popped out his claws. "Bub, if you think we're letting you even _get_ that far..!"

Apocalypse steamrolled over him. "_In the meantime, I shall enjoy making sport of this world's so-called "heroes!"_" Raising his hands, he called out to the desert. "_Arise, my minions! ARISE!_"

At Nur's words, the very sand beneath their feet rumbled, as hundreds of robotic scarab-drones, armed with lasers in their chests and bladed claws, burst out of the sands, shambling towards their master's foes.

Flash groaned. "Great. I've seen _this_ movie."

Before anyone could react, Apocalypse gestured towards Superman, telekinetically grabbing him and yanking him forward, in time to meet Apocalypse's charging, TK-powered haymaker; as Superman was sent flying across the sand-dunes, out of sight, Apocalypse sneered, shaking his hand. "_THAT was the so-called "Man of Tomorrow"?_" he sneered. "_Pathetic. I had such expectations of a WORTHY opponent…_"

_CRACKA-THOOM!_

The sonic boom echoed in the distance as a red-blue streak shot right at Apocalypse before anyone could even _blink;_ closing on Apocalypse in seconds, Superman _levelled_ him with an uppercut straight to the chin, sending En Sabah Nur arcing over 500 feet into the air, tumbling well _over_ the Sphinx. With Apocalypse momentarily out of the picture, Superman turned to his comrades. "Lantern, Phoenix, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Krypto, you five help me take down Nur!" he instructed. "Power Girl, Magneto, Wolverine, you three deal with Exodus! Flash, Storm, Madelyn, keep those drones off our backs! Let's _move!_"

By then, Exodus had recovered from the outright shock of seeing his master get knocked across the Sahara, his dumbfounded expression turning _furious._ "_You miserable TRAITORS!_" he thundered, summoning pulses of psychic force into his hands. "You _DARE_ stand against our ruler?"

As Exodus opened up like a TK-powered machine-gun, Power Girl flew at him, darting in and out of his shots, letting them pepper the sand-dunes, before countering with her eye-rays, but the golden beams of transmuted sound-light energy impacted against Exodus' telekinetic barrier; keeping up her assault, Power Girl focused more energy into her beams, forcing Exodus to shift the focus of his barrier directly forward…exactly like she'd _hoped_ he would. The very moment Power Girl closed on him, before Exodus could counter, she lit herself up like a magnesium flare, her skin radiating with the light of over a _billion_ high-powered lamps; howling in agony, Exodus clutched his burning eyes, ignoring Power Girl as she somersaulted over him, landing behind him and his shield. Focusing sonic energy into the quartz gems in her gloves, Power Girl slammed her palms into Exodus' shoulders, unleashing the piezoelectric charge she'd gathered and shocking her opponent senseless. "Magneto! Logan! He's all yours!"

His claws at the ready, Wolverine looked to Magneto. "Okay, bucket-head, you know the drill: I'm the bullet, you're the gun! _Waste_ this fanatic prick!" Scowling, Magneto gestured to Wolverine, enfolding him in his magnetic field – instantly, Logan went stiff, straightening into an arrow-shape, his arms and claws extended ahead of him. Concentrating, Magneto then gestured at Exodus, launching Wolverine like a projectile, sending him barreling into Exodus' torso, claws-first. His eyes wide, Exodus let out a red-tinged gasp, matching the crimson stain leaking from the claw-wounds directly over his lungs as Wolverine pulled his claws out, standing up while Exodus toppled. Retracting his claws, Wolverine glowered at his fallen foe. "Okay, bub, let's see you get up from – _OOF!_" His remark was cut off by a pulse of invisible force that took him on the chin, knocking him flat on his back. Quickly getting up, Logan was in time to see Exodus rise to his feet, his wounds mending…and a murderous expression on his face.

Power Girl groaned. "Okay, that sucks."

"No kidding, Diva," Logan groused. "Startin' to see why people hate _me._"

Before she could respond, Power Girl's hearing caught the telltale whine of a laser-cannon heating up, forcing her to raise a light barrier around herself and her two cohorts, as over a dozen scarab-drones peppered her shield with lasers. "Uh, Flash? Storm? Madelyn? A little help, please?"

No sooner had she spoken, a crimson streak raced by at blistering speeds, directly ahead of the drones, kicking up clouds of sand in its wake, creating an effective cover, forcing the drones to cease firing as they recalibrated their target-sensors. As Flash moved clear of the disoriented drones, Storm gestured, unleashing a burst of chain-lightning from her hand that sparked from drone-to-drone, shorting each one out…until it hit the sixth target, which sparked briefly, before resuming its firing. Visibly unnerved as ever more drones clawed their way out of the sand, Storm glanced to Madelyn. "They must have some kind of adaptive technology!"

Her mind racing, Madelyn got an idea. "Flash! Kick more dust up around _all_ of these tin cans!" Nodding, Flash widened his track, circling around the entire mini-army, sending more clouds of dust into the air; reaching out with her telekinesis, Madelyn amplified the breeze of Flash's feet, sending even _more_ sand into the air, until a massive sandstorm – easily carrying the mass of several dozen sand dunes – was whirling around the scarabs. "_Now_, Storm! _Fry_ 'em!" Summoning wind beneath her feet, Storm floated above the whirling sand-mass, her eyes cloud-white as she sent a colossal lightning-bolt shooting out of the nearest cloud into the mass; the very moment it touched the sand, the lightning superheated it into glass, spreading throughout the entire mass, changing it into a jagged pillar of clear glass, embedded with dozens of drones, looking the world like mosquitoes stuck in amber.

Slowing down, Flash took a look at the glass pillar. "Huh…now that's pretty cool," he remarked…before doing a double-take as a metal claw started scratching the inside of the glass, while several more burst up from the sand. "Would've been cooler if it had worked for a few minutes more, though…"

Both body and mind reeling from Superman's strike, Apocalypse tried to steady himself as he toppled through the air; impacting the ground hard, he bounced once, then twice, then a third time before he unleashed two streams of telekinetic force from his hands, stifling his momentum and letting him plant his feet on the ground. He'd only caught his breath for a moment when he saw Superman blurring towards him; his eyes narrowed, the Man of Steel concentrated as he surged his internal energy through his legs – recalling one of the few useful lessons General Zod had taught him – to close on Apocalypse in mere milliseconds. "How's _this_ for "worthy," Nur?" he snarled, punctuating his sentence with an iron-hard fist into Apocalypse's abdomen, before surging energy into his arms; his fists literal blurs, Superman pummeled Nur over a two dozen times in seconds, cracking one rib, then bruising a kidney, then bloodying an eye, before finishing with an uppercut-back-kick combo that sent Apocalypse skidding across the sands.

Staggering briefly, Apocalypse managed to right himself – surprisingly well for his injuries – and countered with a massive TK-blast as Superman started to come at him again; knocked off his feet, Superman did a quick midair flip, landing in a crouch, which allowed Krypto to leap off his back as the rest of his team caught up to him. Fangs bared in a feral snarl, the Superdog pounced high at Apocalypse, while his Master let loose a burst of freezing breath – forced to defend low, En Sabah Nur repelled the frigid air with a gesture…which nearly faltered as Krypto's pounce connected, his fangs sinking into Apocalypse's turgid flesh. With a roar of fury that drowned out Krypto's growls, Apocalypse tore the Superdog off of him, ignoring the apparently-fatal wound reddening his garb and skin as he sent Krypto skidding away. Powering his ring, Green Lantern fired a ring-beam at Apocalypse, who blocked it, telekinetically bending the energy away from him, but Green Lantern, thinking fast, bent it back, morphing his energy-construct into a huge pair of emerald plyers that clenched around Apocalypse, before slamming him into the shielded leg of the Sphinx. Falling to the ground, the infuriated Apocalypse unleashed a killing telepathic wave, but Phoenix – working in tandem with her alter-self – raised the strongest mental block she could, blunting as much of En Sabah Nur's attack as she could – as Phoenix fell to her knees with the strain, the other members of her team felt a more-than-moderate ache in their heads, while the psychic surge washed over Superman, Supergirl, and Krypto completely.

Ignoring her induced migraine, Wonder Woman darted at Apocalypse, letting fly with her lasso and snagging Nur by the wrist as he attempted to block it; yanking him off his feet, Diana drove her fist right into his face, smashing his nose and stifling his telepathic assault, before swinging him like a ball-and-chain, slamming him into the sand, releasing her lariat with a flick of her wrist. Dazed, Apocalypse had no chance to block as a slightly smaller red-blue streak slammed into him at blurring speeds, sending him this way and that; once Supergirl had bashed him enough, she unleashed a massive eye-ray at Apocalypse. Raising a barrier, Apocalypse strained to deflect the blazing red energy, while Kara powered on; it looked like the shield would break in seconds…

"_**ENOUGH!**_"

Apocalypse's roar was accompanied by a massive TK-surge – easily dwarfing anything Exodus had let loose – that blew his attackers back, while his injuries all began to _mend_ themselves. His healing complete, Apocalypse touched the drying blood left on his neck…and smiled. "_Long has it been since I have seen my own blood,_" he remarked, turning his gaze back to them. "_Very well; I shall underestimate you all no longer._" Gesturing to the dunes, he pulled masses of sand towards him, telekinetically fusing them into glass weapons – a long, thin-bladed broadsword, and a deadly, crook-like scythe – before grasping them.

Green Lantern grimaced. "Don't tell me he was just sandbagging us."

His eyes narrowed, Superman clenched his fists. "If he's going to up his game, then so do we!" he declared. "Attack-pattern Theta, guys!"

At his instructions, the others were instantly in motion; focusing, Phoenix unleashed a wave of psychic fire that condensed right on top of Apocalypse. Gritting his teeth, Apocalypse shattered and re-formed his sand-glass weapons into a shield, blocking the psychic conflagration, only to find Superman and Supergirl right behind it, flying straight at him. Snapping his shield upwards, Apocalypse knocked Supergirl up over him, before re-morphing his shield back into his two weapons, seamlessly twisting the motion into a blurring high slice with his sword. Blocking the blade with a knife-hand block, Superman was about to counter, but he was knocked flat on his back, as Apocalypse followed his slash with a low trip-swing using the crook of his scythe, catching him by the ankle. Flipping his sword-grip around, Apocalypse was about to stab down, but Superman rolled to the side, countering with a push-kick that sent Apocalypse flying.

With Apocalypse off-balance, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Krypto all flew at him; reaching their target first, Green Lantern opened up with his ring, firing a salvo of emerald beams, but Apocalypse dodged most of them, using his TK to blunt the rest, before pulling back and throwing his scythe at Wonder Woman, before somersaulting over Krypto, evading his teeth. By pure reflex, Diana blocked it with her armlets, causing the scythe to shatter into sand…which instantly morphed into a flail that snapped around her wrists, while its free end shot back to its master's hand. Grasping the flail, Apocalypse pulled, yanking Wonder Woman off her feet and slamming her into Phoenix. He was about to spin the flail again, but Green Lantern fired a ring-beam, cutting the glass chain and freeing his comrade.

Re-forming his weapons, Apocalypse levitated himself straight upwards, forcing Superman, Supergirl, and Krypto to give chase; morphing his sword into a mace, Apocalypse launched the spiked ball like a cannon-shell, but Supergirl shattered it with a single punch, allowing Krypto to dart at Apocalypse again; fangs bared, the Superdog bit hard into Apocalypse's arm, disrupting his focus enough for his weapons to fall apart. With Apocalypse disarmed, Superman flew straight at him, closing just as Krypto was shaken loose; before Apocalypse could blink, Superman surged energy through his arms, smashing his nose with an uppercut, sending him flying upwards, only to meet Superman's axe-handle strike as he darted ahead, slamming him down. Recovering quickly, Apocalypse blocked Superman's descending punch as he zoomed back down, grabbing his wrist and throwing him towards Supergirl, stunning them both.

With a brief moment of breathing-room, Apocalypse caught his breath with a smile, his wounds mending once more. "_I confess, this has been exhilarating, but the time for such indulgence is past!_" he declared, gesturing towards the Sphinx; instantly, the Sphinx began to tremble, as a high-tech sarcophagus rose into the air from an opened panel in its back. Once it had drawn near, the sarcophagus morphed into a chair – or a _throne_ – allowing its master to sit upon it; smirking, Apocalypse tapped several glowing panels in it. "_Behold: the first stronghold of my new kingdom!_"

At those words, the ground _around_ the Sphinx began to tremble, shattering the sand-glass prison that held much of Apocalypse's scarab-army, setting them loose, once more. With the drones freed, a distraught Power Girl glanced skyward as she blocked one of Exodus' TK-blasts with a light-barrier. "Kal, we've got a _problem_, here!"

Darting in and out of the scarabs' laser-salvos, Flash had to quickly shift his path, to avoid running into a multicoloured force-field wall that was beginning to rise around the Sphinx. "No kidding we've got a problem, Blondie! If we don't haul tail out of here pronto, we may not – _WHOOP!_"

His warning was cut off as Siryn's spell-cloud deposited herself and her team – along with a petrified Mystique and a terrified Blink – right in front of him. Glancing at the force-field encircling the Sphinx, Batman switched on his communicator. "Superman: our window of escape is shrinking, _fast,_" he warned. "We've completed our objective; Darkholme is secured."

Watching the wall rising, Superman finished his comrade's suggestion. "_Fall back!_" he shouted. "Everyone, get to the Blackbird and the Javelin or get airborne! We're getting out of here!"

In his throne, Apocalypse laughed. "_Run, then, fool star-whelp! You'll never run far enough!_" he mocked. "_In due time, all of this world shall kneel to me!_"

Ignoring Apocalypse's laughter, Superman dropped to the ground, darting in front of Exodus as he made a beeline for his teammates as they made for their vehicles. "You cannot stop Master Apocalypse, fool traitor!" Exodus ranted, letting fly with twin telekinetic blasts that Superman managed to evade. "None can stand against him..!"

He had been readying a third blast when Superman closed on him, sending him flying with a lightning-fast jab to the face. "We've heard _that_ before, pal!" he shot back, before looking to his teammates. "_GO!_"

The rest of the Justice League, the X-Men, and Magneto's Acolytes needed no more than that; in seconds, everyone save Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Power Girl, Supergirl, Krypto, and Magneto had boarded either the Blackbird or the Javelin. Quickly, both jets took to the air, flying out between the closing force-field walls that were encircling the Sphinx. Once the jets were out, the other five took to the air, flying out after them, while Magneto held back, sending wave after electromagnetic wave at the army of scarabs, keeping them back and giving the others time to flee; with the others clear, he turned to follow…when a lucky laser-blast took him in the leg. "_ARRRGGHH!_"

Superman was halfway out when he heard Erik's cry; turning back, he was immediately besieged by laser-blasts, both from the drones and the Sphinx's rearmed defence-grid, forcing him to power through. "Erik, hang on!" he shouted, touching down, and immediately smashing a dozen drones with a leaping haymaker. "I'm almost to you..!"

"_No! Leave_ me!" Magneto insisted, as the scarabs surrounded him. "You must not be captured here! You have to go, now!"

"I _will_, once I get you!" Superman answered, blowing a cluster of drones away with a gale-burst…only to watch dozens more replace them. "Just hang on..!"

"Kal-El, _listen_ to me!" Magneto roared. "I misread the prophecy; _this_ is why you are here! You and your Justice League are the only ones capable of stopping Nur!" His eyes narrowed. "But _only_ if you remain free!"

And with that, he focused on _one_ drone, ignoring the rest as they closed on him; magnetically ripping the scarab apart, Magneto fused its components into one solid mass, moulding it into a flat sheet, and then shooting it at Superman, wrapping it around his face like a mask and using it to yank him into the air at impressive speeds.

Startled and disoriented for several seconds, Superman quickly fired his eye-rays, splitting the metal-mask apart, only to find himself airborne, with all his comrades, just outside the rapidly-closing force-field. "_NO!_" Superman shouted, desperately darting towards the field…but it was too late: the barrier sealed itself shut around the Sphinx, enclosing it in a massive energy-pyramid. His eyes narrowed, Superman flew straight at the barrier at top speeds, to smash through…

The instant he impacted the barrier, he was violently repulsed, leaving him disoriented. Regaining his balance, he fired his eye-rays at the shield; the very moment the crimson beams intersected the multicoloured energy, they splashed back with over three _times_ their original energy, engulfing him in a torrent of white force that sent him falling crashing into the sand.

As Superman got to his feet, dazed, sooty, and otherwise fine, both jets touched down nearby, while his aerial teammates rushed to his side; Power Girl was first, all but tackling him with a hug. "Baby, are you okay?"

Nodding slowly, Superman returned the hug. "I'm fine, _taushi._" Releasing her from their embrace, his expression paled as he remembered what had just happened. "Magneto, he…he..!"

As the Blackbird's hatch opened, a distraught Quicksilver raced at the barrier, slamming into it and getting repulsed like him, albeit with lesser force. Undeterred, he ran at it again, and again, this time stopping to pound his fists on it, getting larger and larger bruises with each hit, until he had to stop, turning to Superman. "_DO something!_" he screamed. "_My father is IN there! You have to get him out!_"

Stricken, Superman could only shake his head. "Pietro, I'm sorry…but…I-I can't…"

"_You HAVE to!_" Quicksilver screamed. "_Y-You were crazy enough to shoot down METEORS! You and your League went up against an alien robot! You took down that psycho Zood! And now you're sitting there and saying you can't RESCUE ONE GUY?_"

Emerging from the Javelin, Batman heard Pietro's rant. "He's saying we need a plan, Maximoff; right now, there's not much we _can_ do."

Green Lantern nodded. "You saw what happened when he hit that shield, kid," he agreed. "If we're going to pull off another successful rescue-op, we need more intel…and _probably_ bigger firepower."

That seemed to calm Pietro, while giving Superman a chance to regain his wits. "We…we need to head to the Fortress," he said. "Once we're there, we should be able to get a better idea of what we're up against, and see if we can help Mystique." No-one argued that point, prompting everyone to either return to their vehicles or take to the air; Superman was the last to leave, turning one last mournful glance towards the energy-pyramid, before flying off, heading north with the others.

XXXXXXXX

_Undisclosed location_

Deep underground, the dank darkness of the ancient stone chamber was dispelled by a luminous flash of light, depositing Apocalypse, his throne, Exodus, Sinister, and Ozymandias in its wake. As numerous high-tech consoles flared to life by their proximity to the throne – the master control – Exodus looked on in wonder. "Surely your technology is a _marvel_, o Pharaoh!"

Exhilarated by the day's battle, Apocalypse stood up, looking around animatedly. Mistaking his elation for ire, Ozymandias spoke up. "We should assault the League's headquarters, my Master, and teach them the cost of such defiance..!"

"_HA!_" Apocalypse's laugh silenced him. "_The passing of aeons has dulled your warrior's spirit, old majordormo!_"

Ozymandias flinched, confused. "M-My Pharaoh?"

Apocalypse chuckled, thumping his chest. "_In days past, when none could challenge me, I grew complacent, lazy, and so I was imprisoned…but now – NOW – I at last have foes WORTHY of destroying!_" His laugh boomed again. "_What more proof of destiny need you? Before me lies a warrior's dream: an insurmountable challenge, a rich prize, and opponents worthy of my skill!_" He smirked. "_Let these fools come; let them pit their skills against mine, and thus strengthen me, as a blade is whetted by a stone!_"

Exodus was equally elated. "Surely it shall be so, Master!"

Sinister smiled. "Your orders, o Pharaoh?"

Reigning in his spirits, Apocalypse paused in thought. "_For now, we shall wait,_" he reasoned. "_Proceed with your plans, old vizier, while I learn of this new age._"

His smirk came back. "_And soon, this world will hear the voice of Apocalypse…and I shall bring it to its __**knees.**_"

XXXXXXXX

_North Pole_

"Is she going to be okay?"

Within the immaculately silent, white-crystal walls of the Fortress of Solitude's infirmary, Nightcrawler, Rogue, and J'onn could only watch as Superman stood at the main console, operating the medical drone as it scanned the stony Mystique, lying on the cot. "Well…I…I don't know what to make of this," Superman said, once the scan was done.

Rogue gulped. "Spare us the scientific mumbo-jumbo, Flahboy; can yer machines fix her?"

Superman looked stricken. "Rogue, as far as the Fortress' scanners are concerned…there's nothing wrong with her."

Nightcrawler did a double-take. "_Vas?_"

Rogue's expression matched her brother's. "Did the damn _warranty_ run out on this place, Smallville? Does she _look_ okay to you?"

"I didn't say she was okay, Rogue; I said the Fortress couldn't find anything _wrong._ As far as the computer's concerned, there are no physical or biochemical defects or trauma at work here; your mom's body is functioning perfectly."

Kurt was visibly distraught. "B-But…but she's _stone!_"

Looking over the readout, Superman started to get an idea. "Judging from this, Kurt, your mom's body-cells are actually encased in a calcium-based lattice; from what I can tell, whatever Apocalypse did to her, it kicked her shapeshifting power into overdrive!" he observed. "The problem is that she can't turn it off!"

His eyes closed, J'onn nodded. "I…I can sense her; she's faint, but she's there," he whispered. "She's lost inside herself, and she can't find the way out." Growing paler, J'onn opened his eyes. "Kal…she's getting _fainter…_"

Re-checking the data, Superman nodded grimly. "Her hyper-active ability is using up a _lot_ of metabolic energy; if we don't shut it off soon, she could starve to death on a cellular level."

"Well, _how?_" Rogue asked. "How do we do that? Ya got any gizmos that shut off mutant powers around here?"

His eyes scrunched in concentration as he racked his brains, Superman suddenly froze, a smile crossing his face. "As a matter of fact, we do: _you!_"

Rogue blinked. "Huh?"

"Think about it, Rogue: whenever you drain a mutant for any length of time, it pretty much shuts down their powers momentarily!" Superman continued. "Not only that, whenever she takes a major shock, Mystique's ability tends to reset itself…"

A smile growing, Nightcrawler caught on. "…so if Rogue drains her, zhen she should turn back to normal!"

Rogue looked a bit wary. "Will that work?"

Reigning in his enthusiasm, Superman nodded. "If there are enough cells left in the lattice," he said. "Right now, it's all we have."

Her expression firm, Rogue pulled off her gloves. "Okay, then…here Ah go!" With that, she reached out, and placed her palms on both sides of Mystique's stone face.

For several long moments, nothing happened; feeling no drain, no influx of memories, Rogue's expression started to crack. '_Come on…come on!_' For several more moments, she still felt nothing but cold stone. '_No…oh, God, no…please, you can't be gone!_' she thought. '_Please, Mama, come back..!_'

And then she felt it.

It started slow, just a trickle of thoughts, showing her capture by Sinister, but it grew faster and faster, showing her meeting with Blink, and then Apocalypse's return, ending with her protecting Blink from that madman; the instant she saw, Rogue knew what was happening. '_MAMA!_'

Beginning on the skin near Rogue's hands, the stone of Mystique's skin began to melt away, revealing sapphire-blue skin, red hair, and golden eyes, with even her clothes intact, as Mystique let out a wheezing gasp for air, followed by several unsteady breaths, her eyes looking around. "W-What..?" she gasped. "H-How did I get here?"

Kurt was overjoyed. "_Mozher!_" he cried, all but leaping at her with a hug.

Superman chuckled. "Easy, Kurt; your mom's had a tough time."

Sitting up to return her son's hug, Mystique struggled to remember. "Ugh…what happened? The last thing I remember was…_Nur!_ Apocalypse – En Sabah Nur – is awake..!"

"Yeah, we've met," Superman said grimly. "We stopped by for his wake-up party."

Her memories jogged, Mystique glanced up at J'onn, her smile growing warmer. "You…you came for me."

Smiling back, J'onn reached out, tenderly caressing her knuckles. "Of _course_ we did."

Raven's smile wavered. "He…he turned me to _stone_; I couldn't stop him! How did you..?"

With a sheepish grin, Rogue answered her mother's question. "Turns out mah poison touch is good fer somethin' besides drainin' people, after all."

As Mystique lightly chuckled, her laughter turned to coughing, prompting Superman to intervene. "Okay, everyone; she needs some time to recuperate," he said. "We can check back in later."

J'onn nodded. "Very well," he agreed.

Kurt waved. "Ve'll be back soon!" he promised. With that, the four of them headed out of the infirmary.

Emerging into the Main Hall, in the shadow of the impressive statue of Von-El, Superman's ancient ancestor, holding the legendary Sword of El, they found the rest of the League and the X-Men, along with a nervous Blink and a surly Quicksilver. Seeing them, Cyclops spoke up. "How is she?"

J'onn smiled wearily. "She is well, again; she will recover."

Shadowcat beamed. "That's _great!_"

Fixing Superman with a sour glare, Quicksilver snorted. "Yeah. Great."

Flash looked nervous. "Yeah, it's great that Fuzzy and Stripes' mom's okay, but that doesn't answer what we're gonna do about our new friend."

Spider-Man gulped. "No kidding, Big Blue; Apoc had some serious hardware set up in that tomb…but I guess you found that out the hard way, huh?"

Batman remained calm. "We'll need Professor Xavier's help; given that Nur has only recently been active, Cerebro may be able to track him." His eyes narrowed. "If Nur's smart, however, he'll have gone dark, by now."

Superman nodded. "We'll also need to contact Sentrius for a tactical analysis," he said, before putting his hand to his forehead. "I just hope she can spot some weakness in that shield; otherwise, I don't even want to _think_ about what hitting it with her weapons could do…"

His face twisting in fury, Quicksilver turned and stormed away, heading towards a nearby corridor, where the other Acolytes were waiting. "Pietro, wait!" Scarlet Witch called. "You can't just..!"

Pietro's gaze stabbed past his sister towards Superman. "It's _your_ fault!" he accused. "Right now, my father's probably _dead_ and it's _your_ fault! You _left_ him there, and now you're just going on like nothing happened!" His fists clenched. "_Fine!_ If you're not going to do anything to get him out, I _will!_" He turned to the Acolytes. "We're moving out."

Sabretooth snorted. "Says who, shrimp? _You?_" he sneered. "Right now, I'm out about a month's pay, but that's it; I know when to cut my losses!"

"'Tooth's right, 'Silver!" Pyro agreed. "I like a brawl as much as the next bloke, but that Nur wanker knocked Supes and his whole bloody club around in Round One! Count me out!" Looking nervous, he glanced to the X-Men. "So…any chance we can get a ride back with you lot? All this ice and crystal's givin' me the creeps…"

Sabretooth grimaced. "Damn right, Sparky; _one_ trudge across the Pole's enough for me."

Frowning, Phoenix folded her arms. "So much for team spirit."

Quicksilver bristled. "_Fine!_ Go ahead and bail!" he shouted. "I'll rescue my dad _myself!_"

Green Lantern arched an eyebrow. "You're going to break through a force-field that repels _anything_ that hits it ten times over, face down an army of robots, and fight Apocalypse." His tone was flat. "Yeah, that'll work."

"You got a better idea, jarhead?" Quicksilver shot back.

Cyclops spoke up. "There's us."

Quicksilver's laugh was hollow. "Summers, you picked a _bad_ time to grow a sense of humour..!"

"He's not saying you should join up, Pietro," Avalanche said. "Just stick around the Institute for a couple days – get your bearings, and maybe think up a better plan."

Pietro looked wary. "And let Xavier brainwash me into joining up? No chance, Alvers."

Lance frowned. "He never needed to brainwash me, Pietro, _or_ Fred and Todd."

Pietro paused. "Fred and Todd…are there, too?"

"Yep."

Pietro started to calm. "_One_ day," he said. "That's _it_, and if I suddenly start acting like Xavier's best pal without knowing why, I'm _gone!_"

Wolverine shrugged. "Works for us."

The entire time, Blink had been silent, lightly trembling, which only worsened as the others focused on her. "W-What are you doing to d-do with me?"

Storm smiled. "We're not going to "do" anything with you," she assured her. "You're welcome to stay at the Institute, as well."

Sensing Blink's anxiety, Beast spoke up. "I don't know what "bad place" you were in, my dear, but the Institute is _nothing_ like it; you'll be safe there."

Blink started to relax. "O-Okay," she murmured. "S-So…w-what do we do now?"

Looking to the others, finishing by meeting Alison's gaze, Superman put to words what he, the League, and the X-Men knew had to be done. "Magneto said that we were the only ones who could stop Apocalypse," he declared, his eyes narrowed firmly, "so that's exactly what we're going to _do._"

XXXXXXXX

_Author's Note: Greetings, all! I'm back!_

_I realize that it's been over a year since Book Three ended, and almost a year since my last post, but when you're working on a Psych Honours Degree (which includes a thesis-project PLUS course-work), finding time to write gets tough, especially when you're working on multiple projects._

_On that note, I do plan to publish Crusade and Smallville Chronicles fairly soon, but they may not be updated as regularly as Book Four; since this story will be the largest of my current projects, it will need the most attention. I had initially planned to post this after I'd completely edited Books 1-3…but I decided that I just couldn't make you all wait any longer; not when it could take another few weeks to get all the edits done._

_In closing, let me say how great it feels to be back in the saddle! I hope you all enjoy the ride, because this one's gonna be a doozy! See you all soon!_

_Coming Soon:_

_With a new threat to the people of Earth revealed, our heroes are left struggling to catch up._

_While the Justice League moves to match Apocalypse's plot, they find themselves sidelined by a new annoyance from the stars, seeking to stake her claim on the Man of Steel…_

…_but could this spoiled young warrior queen be but an unwitting pawn in a far darker plan, hatched by enemies of Krypton long forgotten?_

_Find out, when the "Shadows of the Past" begin to loom over Earth…_


	2. Shadows of the Past

CHAPTER TWO: SHADOWS OF THE PAST

_UN Headquarters, New York, September 11, 2009_

"Is this really a good idea?"

Standing in the waiting-room outside one of the UN's many meeting-halls with his three colleagues, Superman sighed as he heard Batman's query. "You didn't object when she asked you about it, Batman."

"Because we never had a psychotic ancient mutant running loose at the time," came the Dark Knight's ground-glass reply. "Seeing her will only make these politicians jumpier."

Glancing to the closed doors, J'onn looked worried. "I sincerely doubt that is possible, Batman; they are already quite anxious," he reported. "Between the Sphinx incident, and their lingering fears and resentments of Zod's attack, their anxiety is already substantial."

"Which is why we're going to address their concerns, _including_ our new teammate," Superman reasoned. "We need to get _ahead_ of things…"

"Gentlemen. Commander."

That flat female voice drew their attention towards their fourth member: a tall, lithe woman in her thirties, with slender proportions sealed inside a sapphire-blue, circuit-inlined bodysuit, with mid-length sapphire blue hair, matching blue eyes, and moon-white skin, her blue lips in an expressionless mask. "Regardless of the validity of my presence here, we have no time to reschedule; it is pointless to debate the issue further."

Superman chuckled. "Well, we all heard the lady!" he said. "Let's not keep the UN waiting!" With that, the four of them headed towards the doors, walking through.

As they came into a fair-sized, single-table meeting room, they found five UN delegates, all in business suits, waiting for them. Three of them Superman recognized; meeting the gaze of the Wakandan Ambassador, Superman returned the young man's polite nod. Next to him, the U.S. Ambassador – representing the Security Council – was markedly less friendly, judging by his folded arms. Compared to the North Korean Ambassador, however, he was outright genial; the moment they'd walked in, the young Korean woman fixed them with glares, Superman especially. The Egyptian Ambassador seemed neutral, although a bit nervous, judging from her expression, but the Latverian Ambassador's too-composed stare made Superman wary.

Likely seeking to head off the accusations of the rest of the oversight committee, the Wakandan Ambassador spoke up. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us," he began. "We were, however, expecting only two of you…"

"That was the plan, Ambassador," J'onn said, "but yesterday's events prompted a change of schedule."

The U.S. Ambassador frowned. "I assume you're referring to that force-field around the Sphinx."

Superman took a deep breath. "That's correct, Ambassador," he agreed. "As we were on-site when that barrier went up, we felt it best to take this opportunity to brief you on the situation."

The Egyptian Ambassador spoke next. "Then you know what caused this?"

Batman nodded. "Yesterday afternoon, two individuals – including known criminal Nathaniel Essex, also known as Sinister – reactivated cryogenic technology of an unknown type, resuscitating an ancient warlord known as En Sabah Nur, also known as Apocalypse," he reported. "In addition to high-level telepathy, telekinesis, regenerative abilities, and likely other abilities yet to be demonstrated, Nur displayed command over technology of disturbingly high sophistication, the most illustrative example being the barrier that now surrounds the Sphinx."

The U.S. Ambassador went pale. "A _mutant_ did that?"

Superman knew he had to nip this in the bud fast. "An ancient, psychopathic _warlord_ did this, Ambassador; one with access to technology we know little about," he interjected. "We're still putting together a plan to deal with him…"

The Latverian Ambassador spoke. "…which includes our authorization of Sentrius' deployment?"

"That may be a future option, Ambassador, but at this point, in light of present tactical analysis, it is not advisable."

The voice of the woman drew the committee's attention. "And you are..?" the Latverian Ambassador asked.

"This is the newest addition to the Justice League, Ambassador," Superman answered. "For the most part, she'll be acting in an advisory role; her duties will mostly involve Monitor Womb activity and tactical analysis."

The Wakandan Ambassador nodded. "May we have your name, Miss..?"

"I have yet to assign myself a familiar personal designation, Ambassador. At present moment, you may use the name assigned to my station-self." With that, the blue-clad woman tapped her collarbone, which instantly caused her human skin and bodysuit to flicker out of existence, revealing her true self as her holographic camouflage deactivated.

In the woman's place now stood an equally tall crystalline automaton, composed of the same immaculately blue crystal as Sentrius, her frame lithely proportioned, and perfectly articulate, from her expertly smooth joints, to her masterfully crafted face, looking all the world like an idealized statue given life, her eyes shining with green light, and her positronic brain blinking and flashing beneath the long, fiber-optic hair-foil atop her head.

Blinking her optics, the crystal-woman spoke again, her voice now electronically neutral. "_Please allow me to formally introduce myself, Ambassadors: I am A.I. DS-1-X69452-COM, assigned to Sentrius Battlestation. As such, most refer to me by that name; if you wish, you may do the same._"

The North Korean Ambassador jumped from her seat. "You…you brought that…that _thing_ here?" she shouted. "After what it _did_ to my people?"

"I think you mean what _Zod_ did, Ambassador," J'onn corrected. "At the time, Zod was in command…and he was provoked, if you'll recall."

Sentrius looked mournful. "_Even so, that does not excuse what happened,_" she said. "_I regret that my station-self was used in such a manner._"

The Ambassador's fists clenched. ""Regret"?" she repeated. "Do you know how many of my people _died_ because of that weapon you shot at us?"

Batman's eyes narrowed. "As many as could have died from the missiles your government fired at her first," he countered flatly. "Missiles which your new leaders have yet to answer for, last I checked."

As the North Korean Ambassador flushed, the Wakandan Ambassador jumped in. "I believe we have discussed many of these issues last month, so I believe our time is better suited to new business," he reasoned. Gulping, he turned back to Sentrius. "It is my understanding that, under Krypton's command-structure, you were ranked a Fleet-Admiral; may we address you as such?"

"_If you wish, Ambassador._"

"Very well," the Ambassador continued. "Since you are here, Admiral, I must assume that you wished to contribute to this briefing."

"_You assume correctly, Ambassador,_" Sentrius answered. Pointing her hand at the middle of the table, she projected a focused beam of light that spread out into a perfect, miniature holographic replica of the shielded Sphinx, surrounded by data-feeds and tactical analyses in esoteric Kryptonese glyphs. "_Prior to commissioning this avatar for planet-side operations, my station-self initiated a full tactical analysis of the structure you designated as the Great Sphinx, including the barrier now encircling it._"

The U.S. Ambassador arched an eyebrow. "And what did you find?"

"_Based on my sensor-readouts, the shielding of En Sabah Nur's fortifications utilize a refractive-type generator similar to the one deployed on my station-self,_" Sentrius reported. "_From the available data, the generator is significantly less sophisticated than my own, even prior to my refit, but I have reason to believe that this lack of sophistication is intentional. Whereas my generator reincorporates much of the energy fired against it into its shield, and retains a fraction to be fired back, this generator does the opposite: it taps a significant proportion of its own power-reserves to launch a return-fire blast of even larger magnitude than the initial attack._"

"Can it be breached?" the Latverian Ambassador asked.

"We're confident that Apocalypse's shield cannot withstand a full-strength shot from Sentrius' Plasma-Cannons," Superman said, "but at present, we prefer to leave that as a last-resort option; since we don't know the extent of his systems' power-reserves, we have to assume that firing Sentrius' weapons would cause a catastrophic backlash."

Sentrius nodded. "_Furthermore, additional analysis indicates that the shield utilizes a modulating frequency shifted over a time variant, making deployment of phase-shift weaponry presently impossible._"

"What are our options, then?" the Egyptian Ambassador asked.

"Several hours prior to Nur's emergence, Sentrius detected an energy-plume from the Sphinx; later analysis matched it to his technology," Batman said. "Since it would be stupid of him to barricade himself in the Sphinx with no way out, we have to assume he has additional outposts; if Sentrius detects another such plume, we can track him."

The Latverian Ambassador frowned. "You mean you intend to wait until he emerges, again."

"Right now, Ambassador, we're at a stalemate with him," J'onn said. "Until Sentrius can match his modulating shield-frequency, it's an issue of who moves first."

The U.S. Ambassador didn't look impressed. "Considering previous crises, I'm surprised you're not taking a more forward approach."

"We're not," the North Korean Ambassador snapped. "Isn't it perfectly obvious why they're not in any rush to end this crisis?"

Batman's tone was coldly flat. "Enlighten us, Ambassador."

Flushing angrily, the Ambassador rose from her seat. "It's because there _is_ no crisis! This "Apocalypse" is likely nothing more than sleight of hand, to distract this body from the _real_ issue: the fact that the Kryptonian – and the Justice League, by extension – has stockpiled advanced technology with _no_ intention of sharing it, while _my_ people starve and _die _because of what your technology did to us!"

Superman suppressed a groan of frustration, his hand moving to his forehead. "Ambassador, we've been through this, before," he said. "Putting aside the fact that Apocalypse is most _certainly_ real, by Krypton's laws, we cannot use our technology to advance _any_ non-Kryptonian society…"

"…yet you opted to use Sentrius to repel invaders when it suited you," the Latverian Ambassador interrupted. "Interesting."

Batman's eyes narrowed. "You would have preferred the alternative?"

As both of his colleagues sputtered, Wakanda's representative spoke up. "My fellow Ambassadors, even _if_ Superman were willing to share technology – which I happen to agree is a _most_ dangerous notion, given our own planet's history of one society imposing upon another – the fact remains that none of us can _use_ it. The weapons used by the polar outpost, if my understanding is correct, consumed more power in a single shot than our combined infrastructure used in a week!"

Superman nodded. "That's correct, Ambassador," he confirmed. "The _StarLances_ – the Plasma-Cannons deployed at the Fortress – are guzzlers even by _Krypton's_ standards. Without the Fortress' new type of power-core, we could never have fired them as fast as we did."

That revelation quieted the other delegates, though the North Korean Ambassador still looked incensed. Curious, the Egyptian Ambassador piped up. "Superman, while I agree that sharing technology – at least at the moment – is quite impossible, perhaps it might soothe both this committee and the rest of the Assembly if we at least had some idea of _what_ you have stored in your…what was it? Fortress?"

Superman glanced to Batman and J'onn for a few moments; Batman's scowl made his opinion clear, while J'onn looked thoughtful, prompting Superman to ponder the request for a few more moments. Sentrius, however, didn't hesitate. "_Negative, Ambassador; allowing U.N. personnel past the Fortress' defences constitutes an intolerable potential security-breach._"

Superman quickly stepped in. "That may be true, Sentrius, but we have allowed others to visit the Fortress in the past," he conceded. "Given the circumstances, in the future, we could potentially allow some of them to document some of the Fortress' contents; on the most rudimentary level, of course."

Sentrius' frown dimmed. "_Very well, Station-Commander._"

That seemed to satisfy the rest of the delegates' concerns. "Well, then, considering the circumstances, it appears that you and your colleagues have a sufficient handle on this situation!" the Wakandan Ambassador said. "In that case, I move that we adjourn and reconvene in a month's time!" None of the other delegates objected, and promptly began to gather their papers, while Superman, Batman, J'onn, and Sentrius headed outside.

Once they were out of earshot, Superman sighed. "Well, that could've gone better," he muttered.

Batman's scowl hadn't lessened. "You're not actually going to let any U.N. stooge poke his nose around the Fortress, are you?"

"Of course not; all we have to do is call up Reed or Susan – or both, more likely – have them do up a little documentary on a few basic systems, minus in-depth technical details, and presto: everybody's happy!"

J'onn chuckled. "You seem to be getting the hang of this."

Superman shrugged. "You can thank Alison's Aunt Bridget; I look over her press-releases, every so often."

"That's comforting to hear, kid."

That dry voice came as they rounded a corner, causing Superman's half-smile to fade. "What do you want, Fury?"

With both Captain America and Ms. Marvel flanking him, Brigadier General Nicholas Fury raised his hands in a calm gesture. "Easy, kid. Just wanted to see if what Xavier said was true."

Batman's frown deepened. "The barrier around the Sphinx wasn't convincing enough?"

Captain America grimaced. "Damn; this Apocalypse makes Adolf sound like Mary Poppins."

"Yeah, and just like before, it's going to take a lot more than all of us to get Congress to take him seriously," Fury groused, before half-glaring at Sentrius, "although it might've gone better without a fourth wheel."

Sentrius stared back, unflinching. "_Match found: Fury, Nicholas B., Brigadier General, United States Army; Director of Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage and Logistics Directorate,_" she recited, as her expression darkened. "_Do we have any standing conflicts, General?_"

"Damn sure hope not; we've got enough to deal with," Nick muttered. "You had to go and give Death Star 2.0 a _body_, kid? As though your cousin, girlfriend, and _pet_ wasn't enough of a headache?"

Superman folded his arms. "As I've previously stated, General, Sentrius is as much a sentient being as you or I, and thus is entitled to the same liberties as we are," he countered. "She's just never had the opportunity to enjoy them, until now."

Nick put a hand to his head. "Let's table the philosophical crap for the moment, junior; right now, we all need to be on the same page with this new prick. What's your assessment of him?"

"From what we gathered, General, we could easily classify Apocalypse as Omega-Class," J'onn supplied.

Ms. Marvel flinched. "That bad?"

"His telekinesis was enough to knock us all around, and Phoenix was barely able to hold back his telepathic attacks," Superman answered. "Add in the technology he's got holed up in there…"

"I get it, kid." Fury scowled. "And you can't crack it open?"

Sentrius shook her head. "_Not without risking an unacceptable level of collateral damage, General._"

"Damn," Nick muttered. "So we're _all_ stuck."

"At least until we get more intel," Batman stated.

Superman nodded. "Until then, all we can do is keep our eyes open." After he gestured to his teammates, they all turned to go. "If there's nothing else, General, we'll be going."

Chuckling grimly, Nick moved to let them pass. "Yeah, for now we're done, kid," he warned, "but in this business, we both know how fast things can go from bad to _worse._"

Half-smiling, Superman looked back as they left. "Sad to say, Fury, you're probably right."

XXXXXXXX

_Deep space_

Deep in the black of space, only the constant pulse of the World-Gate gave accompanying light to the distant sun, but even both of those were dim in comparison to the dual sub-space resonances; winking into existence from its jump, the sleek frame of _Confed One_ slowed to impulse, its step-through drive powering down, followed by another, larger ship, its red-black, jagged-wing-shaped frame making it look all the more like some abyssal predator, its bow adorned with the royal seal of the Claw-and-Jewel. Aboard the bridge of second ship, the crew frantically worked to plot a course under the dim light, while their supreme ruler sat in her command-chair at the rear, with her personal handmaiden, looking especially nervous in her long green robe and matching veil, waiting by her side.

After the jump was complete, the handmaiden looked to her ruler with an anxious smile. "M-My Lady, we've arrived..!"

"I can _see_ that, Vira!" came the reply, along with a roll of her eyes, as she gestured to the view-screen.

Following her ruler's pointing finger, Vira gulped as she took in the looming sight of the Sentrius Battlestation. "L-Ladyship, I must ask: is this truly wise?"

Rising from her seat, clad in her usual, blacks-silver armoured bodysuit, clinging to her athletically svelte frame and accentuating her ample curves and enhanced by her royal white cape, her blazing red tresses held back by her royal coronet, the Lady Maxima, Head of the Royal House, Heir to the throne of Almerac, despite only being 20 standard years, fixed her fierce emerald stare at her handmaiden. "You question me?"

In a state of mild panic, Vira shook her head. "N-No, my Lady! Never!" she cried. "It's just…we still know so little about our…_guests…_"

Before Maxima could work up the anger for a retort, a computerized female voice came in over the comm-channels. "_Attention Confed One and unmarked Almeraci vessel: this is Sentrius Battlestation. You are entering Earth sovereign space. Please state your intentions._"

Promptly, _Confed One_ stepped in, answering the hail. "_Sentrius Battlestation, this is Confederate Head Councillor Winema Wazzo aboard Confed One. Our intentions are to open trade negotiations between the Kingdom of Almerac and Earth. We await your clearance to begin approach._"

"_Understood, Confed One. Hold positions and wait for further instructions. Sentrius out._"

As the channel closed, with mighty Sentrius appeased, Maxima's ire instantly vanished, drowned out by a squeal of joy. "_Finally!_" she cheered. "At _last_, Vira! At long last!"

The sight of her ruler in good spirits eased some of Vira's anxiety. "I am happy for you, Ladyship."

Delirious with happiness, Maxima almost didn't hear her; for so long, she'd resigned herself to having to pick her future Royal Consort from amongst the myriad, stuffed-shirt nobles – Almeraci or otherwise – that came to seek her hand…only to fall to that same hand in the trial of combat. Ever since she was a little girl, she'd grown up hearing legends of the brilliant, brave, and gallant men of Krypton…only to later learn that, years ago, Krypton had been destroyed, ripped apart by its own fiery core.

It had been the first time she'd cried, to learn that the only race of men _worthy_ of standing beside her was forever gone. Years later, she'd heard rumors of some inbred Kree dolt being humbled by a survivor of Krypton, but she hadn't let herself have hope…until she'd seen him.

She'd only been idly watching one of the last performances of Warworld, hoping for at least a few laughs, when she'd seen him: tall, strong, proud, _devilishly_ handsome, and bearing the unmistakable crest of the Broken Eternity.

The rumors _were_ true: a survivor…and not just _any_ survivor, but one of Krypton's noble House of El; the founders of Kryptonian society, if legends were true.

Then, as if that were not astounding enough, that survivor retrieved the legendary Sentrius, and used it to utterly _crush_ the invading forces of his new home, who were none other than the mighty Kree and Skrull Empires, _forcing_ them to end their aeons-old war. When news of that miraculous victory reached Maxima's ears, she _knew_ that destiny itself was speaking to her: _this_ was a man worthy of being a king.

'_Of being MY king,_' Maxima thought giddily to herself; it seemed almost too good to be true…

"Good news, I trust, Ladyship?"

Turning to her newest advisor, who was clad in his usual dark, full-body cloak, his hood obscuring his face, Maxima gifted him with a happy smile. "_Wonderful_ news!" she declared. "We're about to land!"

Vira looked worried. "My Lady, Sentrius' A.I. simply ordered us to hold position; we haven't been granted clearance…"

"Oh, please, Vira! A mere _formality!_"

The advisor smiled, allowing Maxima to glimpse a hint of pallor-white skin on his chin, with a trace of a dark marking. "I am happy for you, Ladyship; at last, Almerac shall have a worthy ruler." Glancing to the view-screen, his smile instantly vanished. "Once we get past Krypton's mighty defender."

Her eyes closed blissfully, Maxima twirled around, hugging herself. "I know; it will make today all but _perfect!_" she exclaimed. "With Sentrius under Almerac's control, _none_ will dare challenge our union…and our children will be _gorgeous!_"

Vira's smile was mildly embarrassed. "It will be as you say, my Lady."

Her smile fading into a frown, Maxima turned to the Comms officer. "_Why_ haven't we been given permission to proceed?"

Paling with mortal terror, the officer bowed, trembling. "A t-thousand pardons, Milady, but I cannot say; the Sentrius Battlestation has simply not yet updated us."

Maxima rolled her eyes. "Blasted computers; I will wait no longer!" Striding towards her throne, she retrieved a high-tech, tube-shaped object from a hidden compartment. "Again, advisor, I am grateful for the lend of this device; you _must_ tell me where you acquired it!"

The answer she got was a sheepish smile. "Forgive me, my Lady, but I fear you would never believe me."

Maxima frowned, but shrugged it off. "No matter." Stepping away from her throne, she pointed it at the empty air. "Ready my personal bedchamber, Vira – I'll be coming back with a husband!"

Distraught, Vira moved to stop her. "Lady Maxima, _NO!_"

_KA-THOOOM!_

A thunderous boom shook the bridge as the white beam from the device ripped a hole in the fabric of space, which stabilized into a portal. Once the portal was stable, Maxima simply stepped through, as the portal winked shut behind her.

Panicked, Vira held her head in her hands. "Oh, no…oh, no…" she whimpered. "This is going to be a diplomatic _nightmare…_"

The cloaked figure just chuckled. "You worry too much, Vira," he chided, as his smile darkened under his hood. "Today will be a very good day to…_settle_ old accounts."

XXXXXXXX

_Xavier Institute_

If there was one thing that Pietro could always say about himself, it was that he never stayed in one place for very long; it was his nature, right down to the X-gene, to constantly be moving – to be everywhere at once, as fast as he could.

All that meant was that he couldn't believe his current situation: stuck in his new room – courtesy of Professor X – doing nothing but lie on his bed while most of the X-geeks headed off to either Bayville High or Bayville University. What was even worse was that he didn't _feel_ like doing anything; his get-up-and-go had gotten up and _went_, when he needed it most, to plan a rescue op for…

Scrunching his eyes shut, Pietro turned on his side, trying to will his thoughts to just turn _off_, but no luck. If he couldn't think straight, then all he wanted to do was _sleep…_

'_Attention, students: once you are ready, please report to the Danger Room._'

Groaning, Pietro covered his head with his pillow. '_Darn it, are they back already?_' he thought. He didn't particularly care; as long as they were quiet…

'_I had included you with the others, Pietro._'

Sitting bolt upright, Pietro scowled into the open air. '_First of all, Xavier, stay OUT of my head!_' he thought. '_And second, I'm not one of your happy little X-geeks. Count me out._'

Xavier's thought-voice never rose. '_You are free to leave whenever you please, Pietro…but as long as you are here, we would like you to participate._' Pietro _knew_ the old guy had to be smirking from his next thought. '_If you are determined to rescue your father, training will only help._'

Pietro groaned. '_You're not gonna quit on this, are you?_' He sighed. '_Fine. Give me a minute._'

It didn't even take that long for Pietro to change out of his black t-shirt and jeans and into his armoured bodysuit. His change complete, Quicksilver walked out of his room…and was instantly scooped up into a massive bear-hug. "Great to see you, little pal!"

Gasping to regain his breath, Pietro managed a weak smile. "Hey…Fred…"

As a grinning Blob, his usual battle-gear exchanged for an XXL-sized black bodysuit and vest, hugged his former teammate, Toad, in a similar uniform, hopped up beside him. "Okay, Freddy, I think he gets the picture!" he chuckled. "I don't think Snookums'll be thrilled if you break her brother."

"Oh. Right."

Once Fred had released him – and he'd caught his breath – Pietro half-grinned. "Brother, if you told me we'd all be _here_ a year ago, I'd have said you were nuts."

"Hey, I hear that!" Toad agreed. "Still, it's nice to have the old posse together again!"

Quicksilver nodded. "So, how tough is this "training" Professor X is throwing at us?"

Fred shrugged. "Beats me; this is our first time in, too," he answered. "All I know is that guy Logan's running the show…and he's scary!"

Pietro frowned uncomfortably, as he held his stomach, in memory of a phantom-injury. "Scarier than Zood?"

"Probably not, but dang if he ain't a close second!" Toad said. "Which means we gotta haul tail!" Quicksilver didn't argue, as the three of them hurried to the nearby elevator.

By the time the three of them emerged from the elevator into the control-room overlooking the Danger Room, all of the X-Men and X-Force – minus Superman and Supergirl – had assembled there, along with Wolverine, Power Girl, and a red-haired lady that kinda looked like Jean, plus three newcomers: a red-headed, smug-looking guy his own age, a nervous-looking Japanese chick, and a tall, blonde bombshell sporting a frown, the latter of which brought a smile to his face. '_Huh; maybe hanging out here won't be so bad, after all._'

Seeing them come in, Wolverine frowned. "Glad you could make it, Twinkle-Toes."

Quicksilver glared back. "Figured I didn't have anything better to do."

Wolverine's eyes narrowed, but the red-haired lady's hand on his forearm calmed him. "Now, now, Logan; didn't Charles say there would be growing-pains?"

Logan snorted. "Only if he keeps mouthin' off."

Seeing that Quicksilver was about to fire off another smart remark, Cyclops jumped in. "Okay, guys; for better or worse, you're all part of the Institute," he began. "That means that, if you plan on being on either of our active teams, you'll need to start learning how to function as part of one."

Quicksilver rolled his eyes. "Been there, done that, Summers."

"If you're referring to your tenure on _two_ teams with repeated losses, Maximoff, I would hardly count that as reason to brag," Siryn retorted dryly.

"Says the lady who used to _lead_ one of them."

At Pietro's quip, the blonde newcomer chuckled. "Anything you'd like to share, Princess?"

As Siryn bristled, Jean spoke up. "The _point_ is that, on our teams, you'll need to know how to effectively combine your respective talents to achieve given objectives," she continued. "How do you think we were _able_ to deal with you so often, Pietro?"

Toad shrugged. "She's got a point there, man."

Pietro sighed, folding his arms. "Fine. Whatever."

The red-haired newcomer nodded. "I still say we should be getting some actual mission-time; it's bad enough we got held back, last time!"

"Trust us, man – last mission was _not_ one you'd wanna cut your teeth on!" Spyke replied.

Gulping, the Japanese chick raised her hand. "Um…Scott-san?" she asked. "Don't we need…special names?"

Cyclops nodded. "That's right, Hisako; starting now, you'll need to choose code-names to use on mission. Our code-names usually reflect our individual powers, so that's a good place to start."

The red-haired guy grinned. "In that case, you can call me Mimic: one tap, and I can copy anybody!"

Shadowcat blinked. "What, like Rogue does?"

"Even better, babe; I don't go vampire on their butts."

Rogue frowned. "Lucky you."

The Japanese girl – Hisako – looked thoughtful. "Um…Armour?" she suggested. "I-If I concentrate, I can make a giant suit of armour around myself. Back home, I was at my _kendo_ lessons when I found out; I was sparring with my older brother, and one of my blocks failed, but instead of hitting me, he hit that armour."

Power Girl nodded. "That sounds good," she agreed, before turning to the last newcomer. "What about you, Dinah?"

Dinah thought for a moment…and then grinned. "_Black Canary._"

Gambit raised one eyebrow. "Huh. Any particular reasonin' behind dat name, _petite?_"

Dinah shrugged. "You could say that."

"Okay, if you're all done with the meet-and-greet, we'll get started!" Wolverine said. "Consider yourselves lucky, today; I'm in a good mood, so you'll only get a basic training session, since Chuck doesn't want me to scare you new kids off."

Looking around, Husk raised her hand. "Mr. Logan? Isn't that purple girl coming?"

"Not today, kid; she's still spooked from yesterday."

Berzerker frowned. "How come she gets the day off?"

"Because she got _experimented_ on, Ray," Iceman chided. "Until she gets settled in and comfortable with us, she gets a pass."

Ray looked apologetic. "Oh. Sorry."

Smirking, Mimic looked to Power Girl. "No need to worry, hot stuff; I've got your back."

Frowning, Power Girl folded her arms. "Sorry, Rudy, but today, you'll be working with X-Force."

Cyclops nodded. "Which means that Iceman'll be your captain," he finished. "The Danger Room will be on a low setting, but that doesn't mean you can goof off; just stay calm, follow instructions, and everything'll be fine."

Iceman took a deep breath. "Okay, then!" he said. "I guess we'd better get started!"

As X-Force and their new recruits headed for the elevator to the Danger Room, Blob spoke up. "You're the leader, Drake? I thought Supes was in charge of you guys…"

"He is; I'm just second-in-command," Iceman answered. "He had other stuff to deal with today, so you get me."

Quicksilver felt his anger start to bubble up at the mention of Superman. "What, he's out _not_ saving somebody else's father?"

In hindsight, that probably wasn't the best choice of words.

With the exception of the newbies – whose reactions were mostly neutral – and his two pals, the entirety of X-Force fixed him with an _armada_ of death-glares. "Pietro, if you even want to have a _chance_ on this team, I suggest you lose that attitude. _Now,_" Iceman ordered.

"Yeah!" Multiple agreed. "Kal _tried_ to save your dad!"

Quicksilver rolled his eyes. '_Not hard enough,_' he thought…before he noticed Miss Martian's glare intensifying. '_Crap. She probably heard that._' "Whatever, pipsqueak. Whatever."

Mimic chuckled. "Yeah, dissing the local heavy hitter was _real_ smart, speedy."

"Oh, like you can talk!" Leap huffed. "You were _not_ just hitting on my BFF, just now!"

Mimic smirked. "I didn't hear her object."

"Uh, because she was trying not to _barf!_"

Jubilee nodded. "Seriously, Jones; Alison's with _Kal._ Take the hint."

"Oh, yeah? Well, how come he's not around?"

That got a snicker out of all of X-Force. "He _is_, genius," Leviathan said. "You saw him, yesterday – he knocked that nut Exodus around like a piñata."

Mimic froze. "Wait…are you saying..?"

Magma nodded. "Kal's his birth-name."

Black Canary folded his arms. "So why isn't he here, now?"

"Currently, Superman, Batman, and J'onn are addressing the UN-assigned oversight committee," Brainiac 5 reported. "He assumed we would not wish to accompany them."

Toad grimaced. "_Man,_ he sure called that one right; I'd rather chomp a _bee_ than deal with those guys."

Husk grimaced. "_Eeww!_"

Wolverine's voice came in over the PA. "_Are you all done gabbin'? Because some of us got stuff to do._"

Berzerker snickered. "Yeah, like grab a beer or score 15 minutes with Jean's aunt…"

"_Shut up!_" Phantom hissed. "Do you _want_ him to up the difficulty level?"

As the faint whirring of the Danger Room's systems began to grow louder, Iceman tensed. "Okay, guys; just stick together and stay frosty, and we'll get through this!"

Jubilee giggled. "Easy for _you_ to say!"

Iceman chuckled, before icing himself. "Funny, Jubes."

With a loud whirr, the Danger Room came alive, raising a metallic pillar up from the floor at the far end, lit by a red beacon, while several dozen laser-turrets and razor-disc launchers popped up between them and the pillar. "Okay, it's a Capture-the-Flag simulation; we have to get to that pillar!" Iceman said. "K'imm, be ready to catch those discs once they start flying! Fred, you can take a licking, so we'll need you to run defence while we get to the pillar! 'Mara, Ray, you two cover him! Let's do this!"

At once, the entire team made a break for the pillar, albeit at a slower pace, with Blob lumbering at the head. Their motion-sensors registering activity, several disc-launchers fired their razor-edged blades at them, but Miss Martian reacted fast, telekinetically yanking them out of the air and throwing them back with deadly accuracy, cleaving each attacking launcher in twain. Raising his arms ahead of himself, Blob slowly but steadily powered through, his impressive girth absorbing the training-level blasts with little impact, while Magma and Berzerker cleared out the nearest turrets with lava-blasts and lightning-pulses.

Once they reached the pillar, the red light flared green, followed by an alarm-klaxon. "So, what now?" Mimic asked. "Did we win?"

"We wish!" Polaris said. "Now we have to hold it for two minutes!"

"You're kidding," Black Canary deadpanned. "We have to hold off giant buzz-saws and laser-guns?"

The alarm sounded again, triggering several panels in the floor, releasing two dozen robotic drones. Havok groaned. "No, we have to fend off buzz-saws, laser-guns, and robots!"

Iceman took a deep breath. "Okay, guys – zone-defence! Mark, Polaris, Toad, Canary, you guys hold things here and keep 'em off the pillar! Phantom, you're on second zone with Jubilee – keep us cloaked while she keeps them blinded! Cannonball, Quicksilver, you guys are on intercept with me! Armour, Mimic, you two..!"

Mimic grinned. "Don't worry, chief; we'll help keep those 'bots off your back!" Before anyone could stop him, he reached out and tapped Quicksilver on the forehead.

From personal experience and accounts from his teammates, Pietro had a fairly good idea of what Rogue's draining-power felt like when it connected, so he'd figured that was what Mimic's would be like…which left him completely unprepared; the second Rudy's fingers touched his head, Pietro felt a sickening sensation race through him, starting in his toes, racing up through his gut, and shooting out his forehead into Rudy's hand, bringing with it all his memories and thoughts…

…and when the sensation passed, it left Quicksilver wobbly and groggy, stumbling a few steps, while Mimic raced off at top speed – _his_ top speed – towards the robots. Toad hurried over to help steady him. "Whoa, man, you okay?"

Pietro's eyes were glazed, and his voice was – to his utter horror – _slow._ "Uhhh…whaaaa..?"

"_Mimic!_ Dammit, Rudy, get back here!" Iceman shouted. "Cannonball, with me! Quicksilver, follow us when you can! Let's _move!_"

As Iceman generated an ice-sled to give chase, while Cannonball ignited himself to follow, Mimic raced at the squad of drones, elated by the thrill of his new speed; reaching one, he leapt into a sloppy flying kick, letting his sheer momentum knock the machine back a good twenty feet, crashing into two more, before darting at another, to slam it with a tackle. This drone, however, was ready, and easily caught Rudy's attack, flipping him around and throwing him to the ground. Stunned, Mimic tried to get up, while five drones closed on him…

"_CANNONBALL!_"

Sam's warning gave Rudy enough time to roll clear, as Cannonball rocketed through the robots, smashing two into scrap, before rolling onto his feet. Iceman was instantly behind him on his sled, firing ice-streams into the remaining robots, freezing them solid. With the situation defused, Iceman hopped off his sled to glare at his errant teammate. "What the _hell_, Jones?"

Mimic just blinked. "What? I was just dealing with these tin cans; isn't that the goal, here?"

"The _goal,_ Rudy, is to keep them off the pillar!" Iceman snapped. "A goal that we might fail, since we had to bail you out!"

By then, the rest of the drones, as if to prove Iceman's point, had started closing on the pillar, forcing X-Force to encircle it. The first two drones had already begun firing their lasers, only to be blinded by a pyrotechnic burst seemingly from nowhere. The next two caught on, and fired a burst into the source of the sparks, which caused Phantom to lose her concentration, dropping her cloak and turning herself and Jubilee visible, again. Quickly assuming battle-mode, Brainiac 5 moved to intercept, firing his hand-cannons and blasting the two attacking drones; as one of the two blinded drones started recalibrating its sensors, Brainiac 5 fired a cable from his palm, which jabbed into the drone's head and rewrote its programming, forcing it to fire on two of its brethren, taking down one, before being felled by the other.

With Brainiac 5 distracted, the remaining drones were able to flank to the other side, only to lose half their number to one of Black Canary's screams. As the remainder started to reorient themselves, the lead two were suddenly hit by two of Toad's slime-globs, which splatted over their faces, blinding them enough for Polaris to levitate them off the ground, while a powered-up Sunspot pasted them with plasma, turning them into flaming slag-missiles that Polaris hurled into three more drones before her control started slipping. With time running out, the drones made a desperate break for the pillar, darting around Blob as fast as they could. Assuming wolf-state, Wolfsbane pounced at the three attackers, taking down one and ripping its throat out. The second tried to flank her, but Leap 'ported to its side, grabbing it and 'porting away, reappearing in mid-air, where she let go, and 'ported back to the ground, letting gravity do the rest. As her target smashed itself to pieces, she tried to snag the third, but it rushed past her; Boom-Boom tried to ready a charge, but the robot opened fire, forcing her to dodge and wrecking her aim, which let it close on her, claws raised…

"_NO!_"

Milliseconds after Armour's shriek, Boom-Boom saw a hulking, glowing-orange behemoth, with a round head and clawed hands, leap in front of her, swiping her attacker with its massive claws, rending it completely in half…before it completely faded away, revealing Hisako at its core, who dropped to the ground, exhausted. With Armour down, the last few drones stalked towards Tabitha, who readied two charges in her hands…

…only to see a silver streak race through the robots, ripping out vital components in its wake, letting them keel over like dominoes. As the last robot fell, a timer-alarm sounded, stopping the simulation, prompting Quicksilver to hit the brakes, while Wolverine's voice came over the PA. "_Not bad, but I'm not doing cartwheels,_" he grumbled. "_I see one of our rookies needs to work on her stamina, and another needs lessons in teamwork._"

Jubilee half-glared at Mimic. "No kidding."

Armour looked guilty. "I'm sorry I couldn't last longer; I-I still cannot make this work very well…"

Tabitha grinned. "Hey, don't worry about it; for a first-timer, that was awesome!"

Quicksilver rolled his eyes. "So you guys do _this_ on a daily basis?" he asked. "Count me _out._" And with that, before anyone could move to stop him, he headed back to the elevator.

As he emerged into the control-room, Quicksilver simply walked past the others, heading for the exit elevator, pausing only at Wolverine's voice. "You goin' somewhere, Twinkle-Toes?"

"Yeah. Out," Pietro answered. "I said I'd give this place a chance. I did. I'm gone."

Scarlet Witch frowned. "Pietro…"

"I'm serious, Wanda; I'm not going to rescue Dad by helping your B-listers with babysitting." With that, he turned back to the elevator. "I'll be gone in an hour or so."

Cyclops sighed. "Well, if that's your decision…"

"It is," Quicksilver finished, as he got into the elevator. Right before the door closed, the rest of X-Force got out of the lift up, with Polaris at the lead, gazing helplessly at him right before the doors shut.

For a moment, Pietro paused, torn by his little half-sister's gaze…before he shook himself out of it. There was no point in second-guessing himself. He _had_ to save his father.

And he couldn't do that here…

XXXXXXXX

_Daily Planet, Metropolis, New York_

The city of Metropolis was as fast-paced as its name implied; everywhere Clark, in his reporter guise, looked, he saw taxis barreling down streets, pedestrians hurrying across sidewalks, and both buses and trains racing to and from their destinations.

But what drew both his and Chloe's attention from all that was the tall building they now stood in front of: it wasn't the tallest building in Metropolis, but it was in the runnings, and made all the more unmistakable by the large, metal globe atop the roof, spinning at a constant rate, its logo orbiting around it as it went.

_The Daily Planet._

Looking up at their new workplace, Chloe took a deep breath. "Well, we're here."

"Yeah," Clark agreed, slightly humbled as he looked up the legacy of Mr. Jameson's mentor. "I guess we'd better get in there."

"Guess so," Chloe answered, as they both walked in, heading for the elevator.

Once they'd emerged from the elevator into the main office-floor, Clark quickly found that the pace of Metropolis was cold _molasses_ compared to the lightning-fast race up and down the rows of cubicles, as reporters and staff rushed to meet the ever-looming deadline. "Wow. Not even the _Bugle_ moved like this…"

"Dammit, _somebody_ please tell me that Kent and Sullivan are here!"

Turning towards the source of that voice, Clark and Chloe both saw a 30-something-year-old man, fairly tall, and of lean frame, with short red hair and a thin moustache, clad in brown slacks, a white button-up shirt, and a black vest, walk into view, his grey eyes squinting with stress as he looked at the paper in his hand. "Our first issue goes into circulation tomorrow, and we're still waiting on those two!"

Gulping, Clark raised his hand. "Uh, excuse me, sir?" he asked. "That's us."

The man breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God! It's about time!" he exclaimed. "Ben Urich, Editor-in-Chief."

Now Clark remembered. "Oh, right! Mr. Jameson told us to report to you when we got here."

Ben nodded. "Ever since that old news-hound got me on board with this crazy scheme of his, he's been singing your praises," he said. "I just hope it's all true, especially if you still have this habit of running errands on the job, Kent."

Clark gulped. "It won't interfere with my work, sir."

"It better not."

Chloe piped up. "Where do we start, Mr. Urich?"

Ben turned, motioning for them to follow. "After I introduce you to the other reporters in your department, I'll get our photographer to go with you on your beats," he answered. "We've got a few stories you can look into for tomorrow's issue."

As they passed by the Editor's office, Clark spotted a portrait hanging over it, depicting a young Mr. Jameson, grinning with a cigar in his teeth, standing next to an older gentleman, slightly portly, with thinning grey hair, blue eyes, and a matching grin, wearing a worn-out editor's vest, over a white shirt, with a friendly hand on Jonah's shoulder. Clark's eyes went wide. "Hey…is that..?"

Spotting the portrait, Ben grinned. "Yep; Perry White himself," he confirmed. "This takes me back; JJ hired me on right around when this was done! God, those were the days!"

Clark blinked. "I…I think I saw him, once, when I was younger," he murmured. "My folks and I, we were on a trip to New York…"

"Wait, was this when your dad wanted to get you into the Baxter Building?" Chloe asked. "That time there was an attack, and Captain Atom fought it off?"

"Yeah, that's it! I saw him after everything; he was interviewing Captain Atom!"

Ben chuckled. "If that's the case, then you saw Perry at his best!" he exclaimed. "You could drop a nuke on that man before he'd even _think_ of killing a story!" His smile faded. "Poor old Perry; losing his son just _killed_ him…"

Chloe's expression matched Ben's. "I wish we could've known him, sir."

As they rounded a corner, coming to the coffee-machine, Ben recomposed himself. "These will be a few of the other reporters you'll be working with," he said. "Grant, Troupe, these are Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan; Kent, Sullivan, these are Catherine Grant, our celeb news/gossip columnist, and Ron Troupe, our business/industry/environmental reporter." His introductions made, Ben turned to go. "Just let me find our photographer." With that, he walked off. "Olsen!"

With their boss gone, Catherine, a fairly tall, lithe woman in her mid-thirties, with mid-length blonde hair, and feline green eyes, clad in a rose-coloured skirt and a light pink blouse that strained over an impressive bustline, fixed Clark with a sly smile. "So, you're the new blood, hm?"

Ron, a tall African-American man, his dark hair short across his scalp, clad in brown slacks and a light blue button-up shirt, rolled his spectacled eyes. "Down, Cat; at least let the new guy find his desk, first."

Cat laughed. "Oh, come on, Ronny; I'm just saying hello!"

Faking a nervous smile, Clark extended his hand. "Nice to meet you both!"

Grinning, Ron shook it. "Likewise, man; welcome aboard."

Chloe smiled back. "Did Mr. Jameson recommend you both, too?"

Ron snorted. "In a way," he said. "I used to work for the Metropolis Tribune, until I got canned for looking into Shaw International's industrial waste-management program; Shaw Junior – the guy in charge, these days – gave my editor an earful, and out I went!"

Clark frowned. "Yeah, I've met Shinobi Shaw, once or twice," he said. "Can't say I care for him."

"You said a mouthful, kid," Ron agreed. "Fortunately, old JJ figured anybody who got axed for digging too deep was okay in his books, so here I am!"

Chloe nodded, before turning to Cat. "How about you?"

Cat's smile turned a bit sheepish. "Oh, I worked for a few tabloids, here and there…"

Ron snorted. "Only because that's all you could get after Kim K threatened a lawsuit."

Cat sighed. "You leak one sex-tape, and little miss Kardashian pitches a hissy-fit…"

Clark looked confused. "Uh…who?"

At that, Cat, Ron, and even Chloe gawked at him. "You're joking," Cat said.

"Kent, I am as square as any of these office-desks, and even _I_ know who she's talking about!" Ron exclaimed.

Clark managed a goofy smile. "Yeah, I'm clueless as far as pop-culture goes," he confessed. "My girlfriend always teases me about it."

Cat laughed out loud. "Okay, that settles it: next time I corner her, I am _definitely_ taking you with me!" she declared. "The _look_ on her face when she hears you ask that will _make_ my column!"

Chloe half-chuckled as she started to push her partner towards the main desk-area. "Sorry, Grant; we'll be busy doing _real_ reporting!" she quipped.

As Chloe led him away, Clark sent one helpless grin towards their coworkers. "Nice meeting you both!"

Once they were out of earshot, Chloe stopped pushing him. "Seriously, Clark? I'm no tabloid fan, but I at least know the _names._"

Clark dropped his voice to a whisper. "Hey, I'm too busy listening to emergency frequencies; sue me."

Chloe chuckled. "Point taken." Her face turning worried, she kept going. "So…you're okay after yesterday?"

"As much as I can be, considering we have a new psycho on the loose."

Chloe gulped. "And he hasn't made any moves yet?"

Clark shook his head. "Nope; until he does, we're stalemated, which is the worst part."

Chloe chewed her lip nervously. "And…any change with Lex?"

Clark grimaced. "As far as he can tell, I'm still a stranger," he murmured. "He still has a few weeks of physio left before he goes home…"

"…so once he's back, something could jog his memory," Chloe reasoned. "There's still a chance, Clark."

Clark half-smiled at that. "Thanks, Chloe."

By then, they had reached their respective desks, which stood side-by-side with each other, and a young man, around their age, tall, and lean, with light red hair, in brown slacks, a green t-shirt, and a plaid vest, a camera around his neck, and a tray of coffees in his hands. Spotting them, he smiled sheepishly. "Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan?"

Chloe smiled back. "That's us," she answered. "I'm guessing you're the photographer?"

The photographer nodded. "Jimmy Olsen."

Clark grinned, reaching out to shake Jimmy's hand. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise!" Jimmy replied, setting the coffees down to shake Clark's hand. "So, how are you both finding the Planet, so far?"

Chloe shrugged. "It looks promising."

Clark nodded. "So, have you been in photography long?"

Jimmy's smile became a bit strained. "You could say that," he said. "Up until last year, I was a war correspondent in the Middle East."

Chloe's eyes went wide. "Wow."

"Yeah," Jimmy agreed. "When I got back stateside, I was hoping for a calmer gig as a civilian reporter…"

Clark caught on. "…and then things get _really_ nutty, over here," he finished. "Mutants go public, the Justice League forms, all leading up to the invasion and Zod's attack."

"Pretty much," Jimmy said, before chuckling. "Still, at least it wasn't boring!"

Chloe smiled. "Well, I think it safe to say that snapping pictures on _our_ stories won't be boring, either," she replied. "So, what's in store for us, today?"

Before Jimmy could speak up, Clark felt his ears twitch, his hearing catching the telltale sound of a repulsor-blast…_close by._ "Uh, actually Chloe, Jim, could we table the walk-around for a few minutes?" he asked. "I…have a quick errand to run."

Jimmy blinked. "_Now?_"

Mercifully, Chloe covered for him. "Yeah, Clark's a little forgetful when it comes to his errands," she said. "Luckily, they don't usually take long, right?"

Clark nodded. "I shouldn't be _too_ long," he answered. "Just go on ahead without me; I'll catch up!"

Jimmy shrugged. "Well…okay, if you say so…" he said. With that, Clark hurried out of the bullpen, letting his coworkers head on their way, before discreetly making for the nearest empty elevator…

XXXXXXXX

_Downtown Metropolis, a few minutes earlier_

With the daily rush reaching a brief lull, the streets of downtown Metropolis were fairly quiet, save for the occasional bursts of chatter amongst pedestrians…

_KA-THOOOM!_

As the off-white wormhole winked into existence in the middle of the street, its pressure-wave sent any nearby citizens sprawling, knocking them to the ground as Maxima casually walked out of it, moments before the wormhole shut behind her. Looking around, she felt a sneer cross her face. '_By Almerac, how does he STAND to live on this wretched ball of rock?_' With a deep breath, she quelled her disgust and started to walk away; sooner or later, her future mate would have to take notice that she was here…

"_Damn_, girl!"

For a moment, Maxima felt a thrill of hope rush through her at the thought that he had already found her, but as she turned towards the voice, that hope died, for instead of the awe-inspiring form of a man of Krypton, all she beheld was a swaggering human male youth, even younger than her, clad in some blue leggings, hanging loosely enough to show his undergarments, and a white tunic-like upper garment, as well as some sort of billed cap atop his head, his pasty skin dotted with blemishes. "You have _got_ to be the _finest_ thing I have _ever_ seen!" he crowed, as several other youths, of similar age and attire, gathered near him.

Maxima felt her gorge rise, as she noted the double-edge of her advisor's translator-device; this common-born _filth_ – unworthy to even breathe the same _air_ as her – was trying to _court_ her. "Begone from my _sight_, wretch!" she snapped imperiously, before she turned away, walking off.

The youth groaned, while his comrades laughed. "Damn, girl, that's cold!" he retorted. "Why so harsh? I could be the guy you're looking for…"

Maxima snorted. "Are you Kryptonian?"

The youth paused. "Uh…"

"I didn't think so!" Maxima hissed. "You heard me, you filth: _begone!_"

Amazingly, the wretch refused to listen, as he moved to follow her. "Hey, babe, c'mon; we could have a real nice time together…" he insisted…as his hand grazed her elbow.

Maxima's nausea instantly turned to white-hot _rage._ With a furious battle-cry, she yanked her arm out of the wretch's hand, and backhanded him, sending him flying across the street, to smash into one of the parked vehicles. "_How DARE you TOUCH me!_" she shrieked, before fixing her seething gaze upon the youth's cohorts. "What gives you _dogs_ the right to so much as _look_ upon the future Sovereign of Almerac?"

Terrified, one of the other youths raised his hands. "H-Hey, b-babe…j-j-just be cool, okay?"

But Maxima's fury would not be stayed. Storming towards them, she grabbed one of the idle vehicles, lifting it above her head for a throw. "It seems that I shall have to _beat_ some respect into you..!"

_SSHHEEEEEWW!_

Before Maxima could throw the vehicle, a blue-white energy-beam impacted the ground in front of her feet, startling her. Turning towards the beam, she spotted some kind of red-gold mechanical man, hovering in the air in front of some aerial vehicle; the machine-man landed first, keeping his palm-loaded weapons trained on her, covering the vehicle as it landed, allowing two others – one shield-bearing male human in red-blue-white armoured garb, and one red-haired female in black, brandishing firearms – to disembark. The shield-bearer fixed a glare on her. "What the blue blazes is going on here?" he thundered.

Now Maxima understood. "Ah! The agents of the local magistrate, I trust?" she asked, setting the vehicle down. "Good!" She pointed towards the youths. "These common-born _dogs_ had the _audacity_ to harass a royal! _Punish_ them!"

The female almost lowered her weapons in disbelief. "You are joking."

"If only I were!" Maxima continued. "On Almerac, such an offence is punishable by _death!_"

The machine-man aimed his palm-cannons at her. "_News flash, lady: this isn't Almerac, wherever that is._"

Maxima's eyes narrowed. "I am growing very _weary_ of your people's insolence, human!" she shouted. "I suggest you _deal_ with these wretches and tell me where I can find the Kryptonian man living here, this _instant!_"

The shield-bearer looked wary. "You're looking for Superman?" he asked. "Why?"

Maxima's patience finally reached a breaking-point. Utterly furious, she stormed over towards the nearest metal light-fixture, grabbing it with a shriek of fury – which deafened her to the distant rumble of a sonic boom – and ripped it out of its foundations, brandishing it like a club. "_Enough_ of this!" she shouted. "If you wretches are _incapable_ of respecting royalty, then I shall deal with _all_ of you and find him _myself!_" With that, she pulled the fixture back for a swing…

…but as she moved to strike, her momentum suddenly died, as some other force yanked _back_ on the light, stopping it. Angry and confused, Maxima spun to see who had dared to stop her…but both of those emotions turned to _elation_ as she saw.

Tall and strong, in a red-blue version of Krypton's military uniform, complete with the Broken Eternity on the chest, his short black hair flat against his head, with several spiky tufts arcing over his forehead, his perfectly blue eyes narrowed in annoyance, the last man of Krypton stood behind her, casually holding the other end of the light with one hand, stopping her attack, with a Green Lantern Corpsman and a human youth in a red-yellow suit, emblazoned with a lightning-bolt crest flanking him. Maxima was left breathless, offering no resistance as her future mate plucked her improvised weapon from her hand, placing it back in the ground and welding it there with heat-rays from his eyes, before returning his gaze to her. "Would you mind telling me what this was all _about_, lady?" he demanded, which left Maxima giddily silent – even his _voice_ was perfect. His frown deepening, which wobbled Maxima's knees, he turned to the three interlopers. "Everything okay, Cap?"

The shield-bearer – "Cap" – nodded. "So far, everything's okay, Superman, but one of those kids needs an ambulance."

"Understood, Cap; Flash, get EMS on the horn."

The red-clad youth flipped out a communicator. "Gotcha, Big Blue."

The Kryptonian – "Superman" – turned his sky-blue gaze back to Maxima. "That still doesn't explain who you are, missy; just what did you think you were..?"

Maxima finally found her voice. "_You're HERE!_" she practically squealed, throwing her arms around him. "I _knew_ it! I _knew_ you'd find me!"

Superman's ire turned to confusion. "What?"

The mechanical man groaned. "_Uh-oh. I know THAT reaction._"

Disentangling himself from Maxima's embrace, Superman stepped back cautiously. "Who _are_ you?" he insisted. "What are you doing here?"

Maxima giggled. "Why, to find _you_, of course!" she chimed. "I am the Lady Maxima, Head of the Royal House, future ruler of Almerac!" She stepped forward. "I am here to find my King."

The youth looked dismayed. "Oh, not _fair!_"

The machine-man was equally chagrined. "_Worse than I THOUGHT._"

The Lantern looked thoughtful. "Wait, there's an Almeraci ship accompanying _Confed One_ out in deep space – said they were interested in diplomatic relations…"

Maxima shrugged. "A minor ruse." She turned her smile back to Superman. "Now, darling, shall we depart for Almerac? Listening to these commoners _bores_ me."

Cap bristled. "Excuse me?"

Superman wasn't any more impressed than Cap was. "With all due respect, Your Highness, as flattered as I am by the attention, right now, I have more pressing things to deal with than some misguided infatuation," he said sternly. "I have a life _here_, on Earth, and I'm needed _here_, so I suggest you head back up to your ship and go _home._"

The machine-man raised his hands. "_Kid, be careful, here…_"

Maxima blinked. "Do you not understand what I offer? My hand in union will grant you the throne of Almerac!" she said. "Are you actually _rejecting_ that? Are you…rejecting _me?_"

The Lantern gulped. "Uh-oh."

The red-clad youth paled. "Uh, Supes..?"

Superman took a deep breath. "Well, Your Highness, I am sorry to have to say this, but…_yes._"

The red-haired woman sighed. "Oh, dear."

The machine-man buried his face in his hand. "_He put his foot in it._"

For several seconds, Maxima blinked, her expression blank, as if she'd just been told up was down…before her face twisted in pure, undiluted _rage._ "_How DARE you!_" she exploded, backhanding Superman with enough force to send him tumbling through the air across the street, to crash into one of the nearby buildings. But Maxima wasn't anywhere _near_ finished; picking up another vehicle, she stormed towards him, ready to smash it over his head. "I have every noble in the Almeraci System – and some beyond – all _clamouring_ for my hand!" she shrieked. "Out of all of them, I chose _you_…and _THIS_ is how I am repaid?" With that, she raised her improvised weapon for a strike…

_CLANG!_

Before Maxima could strike, Cap let fly with his shield – his aim was true, as the deadly discus smashed into a section of the vehicle that Maxima was holding, collapsing it and causing it to shift, forcing her to drop it before it fell on top of her head. With Maxima disarmed, the red-clad youth, moving at blistering speeds, raced towards her and grabbed her armorsuit's cape, running around and around her at that same dizzying velocity, spinning her like a child's toy, and leaving her too disoriented to resist the Lantern's ring-construct; reacting fast, the Lantern fired an emerald wall of energy at her, pinning her to the ground. "That's _enough_ out of you, missy," he snapped. "Between breaking I don't know _how_ many diplomatic bylaws and _assault_, the Guardians are _not_ going to go easy on you, royal or not." Her teeth clenched, Maxima focused her anger; no amount of muscle-power she had was going to break a Lantern's ring-construct…

…but as a member of the Royal Family, muscle-power wasn't _all_ she had.

Flexing her fingers, Maxima summoned every ounce of her psychokinetic powers, condensing flickering energy in her hand, before releasing it, morphing it into an Almeraci claymore, and then twisting it and slashing upwards, slicing through the wall of green pinning her, which served the additional function of staggering the Lantern with the feedback. The speedster gaped. "Did she just make a sword out of thin air?"

The machine-man's hand moved to his temple, scanning Maxima's blade. "_Don't be ridiculous; she just used some kind of TK to bind air-molecules into a solid lattice,_" he said, as he armed his palm-weapons, while readying two shoulder-mounted micro-missile launchers. "_Big difference._" With that, he opened up on Maxima.

Moving her blade into a defensive stance, Maxima easily deflected each beam the mechanical man sent her way, supplementing her defence with a force-barrier, catching the salvo of missiles and stopping them in mid-flight; with a half-thought, Maxima then sent them _back_ at her opponent, blasting him across the street. Spotting the red-haired female taking aim at her, Maxima psychokinetically generated a discus-shaped, serrated throwing-blade, letting it fly with a flick of her wrist. Her opponent reacted just as quickly, drawing a simpler throwing-blade from her belt and flicking it in one move, knocking Maxima's projectile out of the air. Already in motion the second she'd thrown the blade, Maxima closed on the female, sword at the ready, but Cap moved to intercept her, blocking her downward slash with his shield…exactly as Maxima had predicted – whirling into a back-kick, she knocked the shield-bearer into his female comrade, stunning them both. "That will be enough out of _you_, you common-born dogs!" she hissed. "This is a matter between myself and my future mate!" With that, she turned back towards the fallen Superman, to _thrash_ some respect into him.

As she turned, her eyes found him…but not where she'd knocked him.

Standing directly behind her, her eyes narrowed angrily, Superman caught her sword-arm easily, the blade of his hand striking at her wrist, as his hands blurred to wrench her sword out of her hand in one perfect move, finishing by driving the blade deep into the concrete, where Maxima couldn't retrieve it in time. "Lady, you have _officially_ gotten on my nerves!" he thundered. "Now, _cut it out!_"

With that, he inhaled deeply…and exhaled with the force of a hurricane, blowing Maxima away like a leaf in the wind. As Maxima tumbled across the street, Superman darted ahead of her, shaking the air as he moved, to grab the light fixture she'd uprooted, before catching her and bending it around her like a rope, trapping her there. As Maxima struggled helplessly, Superman calmed. "Now, once you've calmed down, maybe we can talk like _rational_ sentient beings."

As Superman calmly walked away, Maxima could only gape. '_He…he defeated me…_' she mentally murmured, a smile slowly crossing her face. '_Not only that, he did it EASILY! He's PERFECT!_'

Superman had already rejoined his comrades, helping the shield-bearer to his feet. "You okay, Cap, Widow?"

Steadying himself, Cap nodded, as he helped Widow back on her feet. "We're fine, son. Nothing major."

Widow smiled wryly. "Perhaps we could have _avoided_ this, if someone had had a bit more tact?"

The machine-man lifted his visor, revealing a human man behind the armour. "Yeah, take it from me, Natalia: there's no good way to tell a lady no."

Superman grimaced. "It was that or "I'm spoken for.""

At those words, Maxima saw red. '_WHAT?_'

Just then, Superman's communicator started beeping, prompting him to answer. "Superman here." There was a pause. "Yes, I know there's an Almeraci ship in-system – somehow, their Sovereign teleported here." Another pause. "No, she wasn't interested in diplomacy." Yet another pause. "Long story. For now, just let the others – including Alia – know what's going on." He sighed. "I'll give her the full story myself; she's not gonna be happy…"

Maxima had heard enough; twisting enough to reach her wrist, she tapped her teleporter device, opening another wormhole with a thunderous boom, and teleporting herself away.

Emerging from the wormhole several miles away, on a verdant hill on the city limits, Maxima let out a scream of frustration. She couldn't believe it. '_Some Earth-born hussy has her claws in MY future king..?_'

The beeping of her communicator interrupted her fury. "_WHAT?_"

A calm chuckle answered her shout. "_Some troubles, Ladyship?_"

""Troubles," indeed!" Maxima fumed. "Not only did he refuse me – _me_ – I just learned some Earthly wench has his affections!"

"_Hmm…well, my Lady, from what I've heard, that would make sense. Rumor has it, there are two female survivors: one from Krypton's sister-planet, Argo, and one half-breed…and the Argoan girl is his cousin…_"

Maxima let out another scream. "He prefers a _half-breed_ to me?"

"_I know, Ladyship, it's unthinkable, but when he must choose between her and a human, what would you have him do?_" came the reply. "_All you need do is show him the better choice._"

That calmed Maxima down. "Well, how? After this, I doubt the cowardly whore will show herself!"

Her newest advisor laughed. "_Leave that to me, Ladyship. Before the hour's out, we will drive ALL of Krypton's survivors into the open…_"

XXXXXXXX

_Watchtower_

"Batman, Princess Diana, Prince Arthur, I am _deeply_ sorry about all of this."

As he, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman stood in the Monitor Womb with Head Councillor Winema Wazzo, with Sentrius' avatar busily working at the monitor-station, Batman remained calm. "Did this "Maxima" give any indication she would do this?"

In her white-black bodysuit and white cape, her long ebony hair tied into twin buns on her head, Winema shook her head. "I'd heard that the Almeraci Royal Family had often made diplomatic overtures to Krypton in the past, but nothing since then!"

Wonder Woman smiled gently. "Then it was not your fault."

Aquaman looked grave. "Okay, I think it's safe to say that Almerac isn't exactly on Earth's list of friends, after this; can we expect an invasion?"

It was Sentrius that spoke next. "_Doubtful, Prince Arthur._" Her optics never broke away from the screen. "_The Almerac Kingdom comprises several planets of the Giriod System, with Almerac itself as the capital – their resource capacity does not even begin to approach that of the Kree or Skrull Empires in their current demilitarized state. Furthermore, while the Almeraci Royal Family is known for its impressive physical strength-levels and psychokinetic abilities – some of which approach military grade – their weapons-technology is significantly less advanced than Kree or Skrull weaponry. In conclusion, they are in no position to attack Earth._"

Looking uneasy, Winema leaned closer to the three of them, dropping her voice to a whisper. "Is it really safe to have her nearby?"

Diana nodded. "There is nothing to worry about, Councillor. Sentrius is no rampant monster; she is perfectly safe."

Batman frowned. "Until war gets declared, Diana," he added. "I looked over those specs Superman provided; she's just as loaded to the gills as her station-self is."

Wonder Woman sighed. "She is no threat to us or any civilians, Batman," she corrected. "The only reason she attacked Earth before was because of Zod's misdirections."

Aquaman smiled sheepishly. "I think we might feel better if we could _understand_ the specs Superman showed us," he confessed. "When I saw 'em, I kinda glazed over, to be honest."

"_Then perhaps I might elaborate, Prince Arthur?_"

Batman glanced over his shoulder. "I didn't know you were programmed for eavesdropping."

Sentrius still hadn't moved. "_Your conversation was within range of my auditory sensors; if any information discussed was outside of my purview, I apologize,_" she said. "_To address Prince Arthur's query, my avatar is based primarily on the frame of a Commando Drone, albeit with significant modifications. To begin, my power-generator has been upgraded to accommodate my onboard holo-projector in place of a cloaking-field generator; this was done at the expense of the Commando's auto-disassembly/reassembly systems. My frame is also equipped with finger-mounted Nanite Spreaders with optional Interrogator and Infiltrator subroutines, three cavalry-class Nanite Sabers – two hand-mounted, and one skull-mounted – one standard-issue Offensive-Software Package Generator, one defensive shield generator, one arm-mounted TransPulse-Class Plasma Cannon, and two thigh-mounted StarRanger-Class Multi-Purpose Handguns. In addition, my avatar maintains a constant wireless link to both my station-self and the Watchtower's surveillance systems._"

Winema gaped.

Aquaman coughed. "Okay, somebody needs to explain to her about the phrase "too much information…""

Batman's eyes narrowed. "What exactly are "Interrogator subroutines"?"

Sentrius was about to answer, but her eyes suddenly narrowed, going yellow as her expression turned fierce. "_Unknown spatial anomaly detected; attempting to localize._"

Wonder Woman looked out the view-screen. "I do not see anything, Sentrius; is it a ship emerging from step-through?"

"_Negative, Princess Diana; energy-readings are inconsistent with step-through resonance…but are pointedly similar to my station-self's Point-to-Point Wormhole Generator._" Sentrius' eyes went red as she stood up. "_Localization complete: anomaly is on Level Fourteen and moving here. Intruder alert._"

Before the alarm could sound, all the lights in the Monitor Womb went dim, bathing them all in faint twilight and the standby lights of the computer-screens. Moments later, a swirling white vortex boomed into existence a few feet away, almost blowing them all back with its force, and then flickered out, depositing five black-cloaked figures, their hoods concealing their faces, in its wake. Spotting them, the lead figure snarled, as he drew some type of firearm. "_S'roth Krypton odiur aetur!_"

Batman was faster, drawing a Batarang and letting it fly, knocking the weapon out of the leader's hand. "Keep them off the Councillor, and do _not_ let them get off a shot; if they breach the hull, we're all dead." Enraged, the lead intruder brushed back his cloak, revealing high-tech-looking armour adorned with fang-like black sigils, as well as a gauntlet that sprouted deadly black energy-claws, before he darted at the Dark Knight at blistering speed. Batman barely managed to evade his high claw-slash, countering with a finger-jab at what he hoped was a nerve-cluster in his foe's neck…only to wince as his fingers struck what felt like _granite_, which prompted his attacker to follow with a shoulder-slam that knocked him clear across the room.

Seeing a second invader start to draw his weapon to fire on Batman, Diana quickly drew her lasso, snagging the shadowy assailant and yanking him forward, to slam him in the jaw with a punch; the force behind her strike would have been enough to shake a _building_…yet it only staggered the assailant, knocking him back a few feet and leaving Wonder Woman shaking her fist. "Hera, what are these things _made_ of?" Her opponent quickly recovered, drawing a claw-weapon and slashing down at her, forcing her to block with her armlets; pushing against the creature's weight, Diana found a weakness – improper footwork – and struck with a sweep-kick, breaking the creature's attack and leaving it open for a headbutt, which knocked both it _and_ Diana back. Recovering fast, Wonder Woman was about to press her advantage…but she froze, for her headbutt had knocked off the assailant's hood.

The creature beneath the hood was human-like, but his skin was the palest Diana had ever seen, and tattooed with sigils like those on his armour. His eyes were pure white, without pupil or iris, and his hair was a short bleach-blond, with a small braid trailing down the side of his head. "What in Olympus' name _are_ you?" Wonder Woman murmured.

Her attacker gave no response, readying another attack, but was stopped by Aquaman's grapnel-arm; snagging his target with his hook-hand, Aquaman heaved with all his might, to toss him into the third intruder, briefly stunning them both. Before he could close, however, he saw the fourth take aim at Councillor Wazzo, forcing him to race towards her, pushing her out of the way as the assailant opened fire. As he kept Aquaman and the Councillor pinned, the fourth invader nodded to the fifth, who darted to the computer console, attaching an electronic device to it; instantly, the screen began to flicker, flashing through files at blinding speed…

Her amber optics going crimson, Sentrius aimed her left arm at the would-be hacker, at which point it swiveled around, morphing into a hand-cannon, which fired a deadly bolt of plasma-energy at the figured, blasting him clear across the Monitor Womb. Quickly, Sentrius moved to the console, re-morphing her hand and extending her fingers into long, needle-like claws, which she stabbed into the console, deploying nanite fibrils that linked her systems to the Watchtower's and effortlessly deleting the subversive programming. Having recovered from the plasma-blast, Sentrius' earlier target started to take aim at her, only to have his weapon snagged by a grapnel-line, as the recovered Batman disarmed him with one hand and let fly with a flash-bang grenade with the other hand, detonating the charge right in the creature's face.

"_SSSNNRRRRREEEEEEYYYAAAAARRRG GHH!_"

The burst of light stopped the creature in his tracks, his hands flying over his face, almost going into seizures from the detonation. Aquaman blinked. "Okay…he gets back from a _plasma-blast_…and he's freaking out over a _flash-bang?_"

"It's the light," Batman realized aloud. "That's why they cut the lights; they can't take bright lights." He looked to Sentrius. "We need power back up on interior lighting. _Now._"

"_Understood,_" Sentrius agreed. "_I am now familiar with their coding, so their sabotage is no longer effective; interior lighting coming online…now._"

As she spoke, the lights in the Watchtower instantly flared back to life, which sent all five intruders into paroxysms of agony, frantically trying to cover themselves with their cloaks, before tapping high-tech armlets they wore, opening off-white portals that pulled them away into thin air. The fifth was about to flee, but Sentrius quickly withdrew her nano-claws from the monitor, morphing her fingers into dagger-like crystal blades, before launching them like blowgun-darts, regenerating her digits as her projectiles easily pierced the invader's neck; paralyzed, the eerie intruder howled in pain and horror as blue crystal-growths burst from his skin, leaving a steadily-growing trail all the way up to his head. As crystals burst from his forehead, the creature spasmed as the nano-growths projected a blue-white beam directly into Sentrius' head. "_Download complete._" Fighting his paralysis, the assailant forced his hand to tap his armlet…which caused his armour to start to glow. Recognizing his plan, Sentrius instantly moved to his side, tapping the armlet again and stepping back, letting the portal engulf him.

From the view-screen, Batman could see an off-white portal open up several hundred miles away…followed by an impressive explosion. "How did you know?"

Sentrius' optics turned back to green. "_Those were Vengeance Commandos, Batman – pledged to give their lives to destroy an enemy, if so needed._"

Aquaman looked wary. "You…yanked the info from that guy's head?"

"_My Interrogator subroutines,_" Sentrius answered. "_I now know precisely who attacked us; we must inform Commander El immediately._"

Hearing a beep on a nearby console, Wonder Woman glanced to it, finding an airlock-alert. "Well, now is your chance, Sentrius – he, Flash, and Green Lantern are arriving as we speak."

After a minute, the doors to the Monitor Womb hissed open, allowing Superman, Flash, and Green Lantern entry. Looking around, Superman's eyes went wide. "What in Rao's name _happened_ here?"

"We had some uninvited guests," Aquaman replied. "Apparently, Sentrius knows who they were."

Flash groaned. "Great. As if a psycho alien queen wasn't enough."

Winema looked regretful. "As I told your comrades, Superman, I cannot apologize enough for Maxima's actions; had I any idea she would accost you…"

"…you'd have refused, Councillor. There's no need to apologize." Before he could continue, a second beep from the console interrupted him, prompting him to check. "Speak of the devil."

"_Commander El, I am detecting an incoming transmission from the Almeraci vessel,_" Sentrius stated. "_Shall I patch it through?_"

Superman put his hand to his head. "You may as well, Sentrius. Let's see what they have to say for themselves."

Seconds later, the view-screen showed the image of a young woman, in Almeraci robes, with a nervous expression on her face. "_H-Hello? Is…is this the Commander of the Sentrius Battlestation?_"

Superman folded his arms. "When the need arises," he answered. "I assume this is the vessel of Lady Maxima?"

The young woman nodded, bowing as she did. "_Correct, Commander; I am Vira, Handmaiden to her Ladyship._" She gulped. "_Is my Lady with you?_"

Flash shook his head. "Sorry, lady, but your boss bolted after we kicked her butt."

Winema's eyes narrowed. "Handmaiden, were you _aware_ your Sovereign intended to assault the Commander upon a Confederate-aligned planet?" she demanded. "Were you _aware_ of how many sections of the Confederate charter she – and Almerac, by extension – just _violated?_"

Vira was near tears. "_N-No, Head Councillor! I had no idea she intended to…approach the Commander, nor could I have stopped her if I had!_" she cried. A faint smile crossed her face. "_Regardless, I am glad that matters are resolved, now that the Commander will be accompanying her Ladyship to Almerac…_"

"You're getting ahead of yourself, Handmaiden," Superman said flatly. "As I told Maxima herself, I'm not going anywhere."

Abject horror wrote itself across Vira's face. "_B-B-But you MUST!_" she cried. "_Almerac is in the direst NEED of a King! You HAVE to accept her Ladyship's hand!_"

"He doesn't "have" to do anything, missy," Green Lantern snapped.

Wonder Woman nodded her agreement. "If your "Lady" cannot accept that, then that is _her_ problem."

"_No, it is ALMERAC'S problem!_" Vira wailed, in tears, now. "_Y-You do not know what Almerac is like! Maxima refuses to take the throne without a King! The nobles are all intent on taking power, which could throw the entire Kingdom into civil war! Our economy is in ruins, our military is in disarray, and our citizens are all suffering! If you don't take the throne with her, Almerac is DOOMED!_"

Superman looked grave at those words, forcing him to take a deep breath as he answered. "I'm sorry to hear that, Handmaiden, but I still cannot help you; my people are sworn never to directly interfere with another civilization's development, and my becoming your ruler would be the _highest_ form of interference," he reasoned. "Furthermore, there has been an attack on our headquarters, which means we have other things to deal with…"

Sentrius interrupted him. "_Handmaiden, how did your Sovereign reach Earth? Your ship launched no away-vessels._"

Vira looked confused. "_S-She utilized some sort of transportation technology given her by one of her advisors; he approached Almerac with this technology, as well as the name of the planet you were upon,_" she answered. "_I have not seen him since…_"

Sentrius persisted. "_Does this technology generate wormholes?_"

"_I-I believe so..._"

Sentrius' eyes narrowed. "_You and your vessel will hold position, and make no further transmissions; violate either of those orders, and my station-self will open fire. Watchtower out._"

As Sentrius ended her transmission, Batman glowered at her. "Explain yourself."

Sentrius made no response as she moved to the console the intruders had attempted to access, bringing up the files they were looking at, before looking to Superman. "_We must proceed to Earth immediately; Citizens Ka-Lir and Zor-El are in danger._"

Superman frowned. "Sentrius, what's going on?"

"_The Shadow of Krypton has fallen upon Earth, Commander. The memory-files I extracted from one intruder all but confirm it: Dheron's people are here._"

Superman paled. "Oh, Rao…and if they're still holding a grudge..!"

"_Precisely,_" Sentrius agreed. "_And if they used the same transport-system as Maxima, she is either in league with them, or she is their unwitting pawn._"

Aquaman spoke up. "Huh?"

"We have to get to Earth, now!" Superman exclaimed, already heading towards the vehicle-bay. "Flash, Diana, you two are with me; Arthur, Batman, Sentrius, you head to the Institute! Alison and Kara are in terrible danger!"

XXXXXXXX

_Bayville University, Bayville_

"If there are no further questions about your projects, I'll see you all tomorrow."

As her Intro to Design professor walked out, while the rest of the class followed suit, a mentally drained Alison gathered her books to do the same. '_So much for Design being easy…_' she thought, before checking over her schedule, grimacing as she saw she still had Math and Bio left before Music Theory, her one escape from the horrors of her course-load…

"Alison! Aly, over here!"

As she wandered into the hallway, Alison spotted two familiar faces, which brought a smile to her own. "Hey, Jean, Taryn."

Hurrying over to her, with Jean close behind, Taryn Fujioka greeted her with a smile. "How was class?"

Alison groaned piteously. "Mind-numbing."

Catching up to her friends, Jean nodded. "I can sympathize; between Calc, Bio, and Organic Chem, my head's set to explode."

Alison chuckled. "Yeah, like you'll have any trouble, Little Miss Pre-Med," she teased.

Taryn expertly changed the subject. "So, which sororities are you girls pledging for?" she asked. "Pledge-Week is next week!"

Alison sighed. "Yeah, guest-starring Adrienne Cole. No, thank you."

Taryn looked horrified. "B-But you _have_ to!" she cried. "I thought the three of us were pledging _together!_"

Alison's expression turned guilty. "Sorry, Taryn, but between schoolwork, the Institute, and League-duty, I'll never be able to find the time."

As they walked into the university courtyard, the trees starting to turn various shades of red and gold with the onset of fall, Jean nodded sadly. "I'm afraid I'll have to pass, too, Taryn; now that Scott and I are junior instructors, we won't have as much time to…"

_KA-THOOOOM!_

A thunderous boom silenced Jean as a white swirling vortex ripped into view several meters away, knocking every student in range flat on their backs; mere seconds later, it vanished, depositing a red-haired, armour-clad young woman in its place, with a furious expression on her face. "_Where is she?_"

Jean groaned. "And, of course, freaky crap like _this_ tends to cut into our schedules."

The armoured woman didn't wait for an answer; marching towards the nearby fountain, she angrily ripped it up from the ground, holding it over her head. "_Show yourself, you cowardly whore!_" she shrieked, preparing to throw it at the crowd of fleeing students…

That was more than enough for Alison; switching on her music, she gave Jean a quick nod, before generating a hard-light bolt in her hand, and launching it straight at the newcomer. Her aim was true, as her blast slammed right into the young woman's face, staggering her long enough for Jean to telekinetically grab the statue and set it down safely. With the attacker disarmed, Alison readied two more light-bolts. "I don't know who you are, lady, but you picked the wrong school to..!"

Her remark was drowned out by the newcomer's irate screech, erupting from her mouth the second she met Alison's gaze. "_YOU!_"

Alison kept calm. "Do I know you?"

The woman simply gestured, seemingly forming a broadsword out of thin air. "Stay _away_ from him!"

Alison blinked. "Okay…_what_ are you talking about?"

"You know perfectly _well_ what I speak of, half-breed harlot! Do not play the fool!"

Stepping forward, Jean addressed her. "Maybe she would, if she knew _who_ was asking?"

The woman sneered. "Very well, human: I am the Lady Maxima, Head of the Royal House, future ruler of Almerac!" She waved her hand. "Don't bother bowing; I have little time, and I'm sure you're appropriately honoured."

Alison's eyes narrowed. "Oh, really?" she shot back. "Well, "Your Ladyship," care to tell us what you're _doing_ here?"

Maxima's fury returned. "I am here, wretched _tramp_, to find my future husband…and _remove_ the lower-born _trash_ that clings to him!"

Alison felt a familiar dread grip her. '_Oh, God, not again!_' "And you're tweaked at me because..?"

"Must I explain _everything_, common trollop?" Maxima exploded. "My intended mate – the last man of Krypton, the hero that _broke_ the Kree and Skrulls _both_ – lingers on this dreary little backwater because of _you!_" She brandished her blade at Alison. "I mean to _remedy_ that."

That was all Alison needed to hear. '_Oh, you are SO getting your butt kicked in, you spoiled little bitch!_' she thought. '_Jean, when I move, grab that statue; I'm the pitcher, you're the batter…and Her Bitchy Ladyship is the BALL!_'

Jean mentally chuckled. '_Got it._'

Maxima fixed an imperious gaze at Alison. "Consider this your only chance to save your miserable hide, whore; stay away from my betrothed, or face my wrath. What say you?"

Alison smiled darkly. "It's funny you should say that, Max," she snapped, "because I was about to say the same thing to _you!_" And with that, she darted at Maxima at blinding speeds, her fist connecting solidly with Maxima's jaw, sending her hurtling backwards, right into the path of the statue levitated by Jean's TK; the moment Maxima was in rage, Jean slammed her like a baseball, sending her flying across the campus. With Maxima down, Alison winced, shaking her fist. "For a snotty bitch, she had a hard head."

Jean chuckled. "You'd think you'd be used to dealing with psycho-chicks, by now."

Alison sighed. "You'd think."

By then, Taryn had recovered from the shock. "_Damn_, you two!" she exclaimed. "You both…knocked that crazy bitch around like nothing!"

Jean shrugged. "You're surprised, Taryn?"

Alison nodded. "It's kinda what we do."

"Well, yeah, but I haven't really seen it up-close, much!" Taryn started to smile, as she dropped her voice to a whisper. "And was she trying to muscle in on Kal?"

Alison's expression darkened. "Apparently," she muttered. "She should consider herself lucky she only got off with a…"

"_RRRRAAAAARRRRRGGGHHH!_"

Maxima's furious roar drowned out Alison's remark as the future ruler of Almerac leapt _back_ across the campus, landing just a few feet away from them. "_You DARE?_" she exploded, summoning another weapon – a bladed chakram – with a gesture, letting it fly straight at Alison with another. Quickly, Jean snagged it with her TK, stopping it in mid-flight…which left her open for Maxima to leap at her, slamming her with a flying kick and knocking her to the ground, momentarily dazed. With Jean down, Maxima turned towards her _real_ target, blade at the ready. "You will _not_ take him from me, you _miserable_ little wench!" she snarled, unleashing a vertical slash, forcing Alison to block it with a light-barrier, leaving her opne to Maxima's shoulder-thrust, knocking her back several feet. "Ever since I was a _child_, I _dreamed_ of one like him as my mate, and now that I have found him, I _will_ have him!" She punctuated her statement with a diagonal slash, which impacted against another light-shield, followed by a back-kick, driving Alison back more. "Who are _you_ to defy me, you common harlot? I am of the Blood Royal, the future _ruler_ of the Kingdom of Almerac! I am..!"

She'd unleashed another slash in mid-sentence…but _this_ one impacted against a light-barrier that _bent_ with it, encircling and trapping Maxima's blade…as she met Alison's furious gaze. "_I_ am _sick_ of hearing that same, _stupid_ speech from _every_ spoiled, tarted-up, overprivileged, tyrant-brat that tries to move in on _my_ man!" Alison exploded. "If it wasn't LeRoux, it's some over-sexed Asgardian tramp, and now _you!_"

Twisting and wrenching the blade out of Maxima's hands, Alison sent it clattering to the ground, before slamming Maxima with an uppercut, doubling her over, and then following with a knee-kick, somersaulting her back onto her feet, wobbling unsteadily. Recovering her balance – and her ire – Maxima closed on Alison, unleashing a punch, but Alison reinforced her block with a light-barrier, knocking it aside and countering with a jab-hook-back-kick combo, knocking Maxima back. "I am _not_ spending the better part of _another_ two years setting _you_ straight, you bratty bitch!" Alison snapped, unleashing a light-bola from her hand that snagged Maxima by the neck, yanking her back into striking distance. "So consider this the _only_ time I'm going to say this!" As Maxima got in range, she emphasized every word with a punch. "_I'm!_"

_WHAM!_

"_Not!_"

_WHAM!_

"_Going!_"

_WHAM!_

"_ANYWHERE!_"

_WHAM!_

With the last punch, Alison released her light-bola, letting the force of her strike carry Maxima clear across the courtyard, crashing _into_ the statue she'd tried to use as a weapon. As Alison stormed towards her, Maxima sat up from the pile of rubble surrounding her, her ire now replaced by both incredulity and fear, her eyes slightly misty. Alison just glared at her, readying two light-blasts. "_Got_ that?"

Sniffling angrily, Maxima was about to make some retort, but whatever she had been about to say was drowned out by an approaching sonic boom; seconds later, a red-blue blur shot out of the clouds, with a Javelin close behind. As the Javelin touched down, allowing Flash and Wonder Woman to disembark, Superman came to a stop next to it. Catching Alison's eyes, Superman's expression turned worried, as he strode towards her. Seeing him approach, Maxima rose, hurrying towards him. "Darling, t-this wretch _assaulted_ me! _Do_ something..!"

Superman ignored her completely, leaving her wide-eyed as he walked right past her, stopping just a foot away from Alison – as close as he dared without exposing their relationship – while keeping a lovingly worried expression on his face. "You're okay?"

Catching her breath, Alison smiled back, her earlier tension already starting to melt just from proximity to him from their empathic link. "I'm okay."

Half-glancing back to Maxima, Superman chuckled. "Yeah, I probably should've guessed you could handle _her,_" he said. "I just thought someone else would get here first."

Alison's eyebrows shot to her forehead. "Is something wrong?"

Maxima would be ignored no longer. "_Excuse_ me!" she shrieked. "This little hag _assaulted_ a royal personage..!"

Wonder Woman skewered her with a glare, silencing her. "If what I've heard is correct, you spoiled little wench, it's _nothing_ you didn't deserve!"

Jean grimaced. "_Tell_ me we don't have another Siryn on our hands."

"Nah, Red, we're good," Flash said. "We've got Spooky's mom on board; if Queen Bitchy here doesn't back off, the Confederacy is _more_ than happy to reel her in."

Stricken, Maxima shrunk back. "I…I did what I had to do to secure my future King..!"

Superman had had enough. "_You don't even KNOW me!_"

"I know _enough!_" Maxima shouted back. "Ever since I was but a _child_, my mother told me legends of the men of Krypton – the _only_ men worthy of standing beside Almerac's Queen! For so long, I'd thought the chance of finding a worthy mate was all but _lost_ to me…but then, I learned of _you!_"

Superman knew enough not to be flattered. "And you made no secret of that, did you?" he pressed. "And recently, someone came forward and told you _where_ I was?"

Maxima paused, confused. "What of it?"

Wonder Woman sighed. "They were _using_ you, fool child."

Now Alison was perplexed. "_Who?_"

Superman looked grim. "The Shadow of Krypton, Aly."

It took a moment for Alison to recognize the phrase, but once she got it, her eyes went wide. "Are you _serious?_"

"_Dead_ serious, _taushi._"

"I'm assuming that means something bad?" Jean hazarded.

Superman nodded. "_Big time_, Jean; just a few minutes ago, the Watchtower was assaulted by…" He suddenly paused, his face gaining the far-away expression he always got when his hearing picked something up. "Contact the Avengers and the Institute; tell them to meet us at Metropolis with as many as they can afford to send."

Alison's hand moved to his arm. "Baby, what is it..?" she began…but then she heard it, too.

Meeting her gaze, Superman nodded. "Dheron clearly sent a _lot_ more than just a few Commandos…"

XXXXXXXX

_Xavier Institute_

"So, you're really leaving?"

As he packed up the change of clothes that Professor Xavier had given him, Quicksilver looked back to his two pals, standing in the doorway of his room – _former_ room, he corrected. "It's for the best, guys."

Fred looked glum. "Aww…I thought we'd all get to hang out, again."

Pietro half-smiled. "Hey, I can swing by, every so often," he offered. "I just…I have to work on busting Dad out of the Sphinx."

Todd frowned. "Yeah, you're gonna walk away from the two teams that solve crap like this on a bi-weekly basis. Smart, Maximoff."

Pietro felt a scowl cross his face. "Like I'm gonna trust the guy that got him _put_ in there, in the first place." Before Fred or Todd could counter, he tossed his knapsack over his shoulder. "Take care of yourselves, guys." With that, he walked out.

As he headed down the stairs, Quicksilver was about to head for the door, but stopped as he found an annoyed-looking Wanda and a stricken Lorna in his path. "Hey, Wanda, mind moving?"

Wanda folded her arms. "If you can make me."

Pietro groaned. '_Should've known it wouldn't be easy._' "I don't want to fight you on this, sis."

Lorna clasped her hands. "Then stay."

"You both know I _can't,_" Pietro insisted. "I'm just not a good fit here."

"That's what I thought, at first," Wanda said. "I got proved wrong."

By then, Todd and Fred had caught up to him. "Sorry, Cuddlebumps," Todd said, scratching his head. "We tried talking to him…"

Wanda gently smiled. "It's okay, Todd."

Suppressing the nausea that the thought of Todd and Wanda smooching always brought to his mind, Pietro met his twin's gaze. "You know why I have to go."

Wanda's frown deepened. "Yeah – so you can _try_ to save Magneto!" she snapped. "And _how_ exactly do you intend to do that? Do you even _have_ a plan?"

Pietro started to frown. "So I'll think on my feet," he said. "In any case, it beats sitting around on my duff, like I'm doing now." He snorted. "Although I guess I should thank you for not dancing on his grave."

Wanda's eyes flashed angrily. "Are you saying I'm _happy_ about what happened to him?"

Pietro snorted. "Are you saying you're _not?_"

Her eyes misting, Wanda looked away. "I…I thought I _would_ be," she confessed. "Yeah, for the longest time I _would_ have been…but now that it's happened, it…it didn't make anything better."

Lorna nodded. "I don't think _any_ of us have had a really great relationship with him," she said, "but it doesn't mean we don't care, right?" She looked at Pietro. "_That's_ why you should stay, Pietro; the three of us, plus everyone else, have a better chance of saving him if we're _together._" She sniffled. "So please don't go, Pietro?" she pleaded. "Please?"

Pietro grimaced. '_I don't believe it: something even WORSE than Wanda getting mad at me,_' he inwardly groused. Carefully meeting Lorna's pleading eyes – and trying desperately not to succumb to her guilt-trip – Pietro struggled to order his thoughts. "Look, I…"

'_X-Men, X-Force, assemble in the living room; we have a situation._'

Pietro let out a sigh of relief as he heard that powerful mental voice. '_Never thought I'd be GLAD to hear Xavier._' Quickly, he, his sisters, and his two pals headed to the living room, where the Professor, Wolverine, Madelyn, the X-Men – minus Scott and Jean – X-Force, Kara, and Krypto had gathered in front of the TV; Kara's eyes were narrowed, while Krypto growled at the image. Glancing at the TV, Pietro arched an eyebrow as he looked at the image of a massive dome of darkness, extending for several hundred square miles. "Uh…and what exactly are we looking at?"

Wolverine's tone was dark. "That'd be Metropolis, Twinkle-Toes."

Sam gulped. "Dang…what did _that?_"

Kara's eyes scrunched shut. "Dheron," she murmured. "Kal contacted me; the Watchtower was just beset by a squad of their Vengeance Commandos."

"Uh, boy," Lance muttered. "_Not_ liking the sound of that."

The Professor turned towards Superman's cousin. "What do they want?"

"If they are here, they only want one thing," Kara answered. "To settle their grudge with our people, and if their tactics haven't changed, they won't care _who_ gets in their way."

Wolverine scowled. "Nice guys."

Iceman looked grim. "We got a plan?"

"Kal and the others are working on one," Kara answered. "As many of us as possible are to meet up with them and the Avengers on Metropolis' limits."

The Professor nodded. "Understood, Kara; with the exception of our three new recruits, all of you are to rendezvous with them."

Dinah's eyes narrowed. "You're kidding."

Rudy was just as irate. "You're benching us _again?_"

"Not up for debate, Jones!" Iceman snapped. "Right now, we're dealing with something that's got _Superman_ worried – do you _really_ want your first mission to be one like that?"

Rudy paused. "Uh…"

"Didn't think so." Iceman then turned to Quicksilver. "What about you, Maximoff?"

Pietro shrugged. "What _about_ me?"

Wanda folded her arms. "Are you ditching us or not?"

It wasn't his problem; whatever was going on, it was something that Super-Dork's people had, somehow, dragged them into. Pietro _knew_ that, and was ready to make it clear…

…but looking at Wanda's annoyed face, Lorna's hopeful expression, and Todd and Fred's sad gazes, his resolve faltered.

Pietro sighed. "_One_ mission," he vowed, to himself as much as the others. "Just this _one_ mission, and then I'm _outta_ here!"

Fred laughed, pulling him into a bear-hug. "I _knew_ you'd stick around!"

Pietro wheezed. "Fred…_breathe..?_"

"Oh. Sorry."

Iceman chuckled. "If you're sticking around, Pietro, we gotta suit up: we're picking up Scott and Jean at Bayville U before we head to Metropolis! Let's move!"

As the entire group headed out, Pietro groaned as he found himself following. '_I just KNOW I'm gonna regret this…_'

XXXXXXXX

_Metropolis, a few minutes earlier_

"So, is it always this busy, around here?"

As she followed Jimmy along the packed Metropolis sidewalks, the noon sun high overhead, Chloe could only gape at the level of activity around the city. "I thought _New York_ was crazy, but this has the Big Apple _beat!_" she exclaimed. "Please tell me it's not always like this."

Jimmy grinned. "It's not always like this."

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good."

Jimmy's grin grew sly. "Sometimes it actually gets _busy._"

Chloe shot him a dirty look. "Thanks." As they rounded a corner, Chloe's frown faded. "Really, Jimmy, you didn't have to do this."

Jimmy's expression turned sheepish. "Actually, I kinda do; this coffee-place is _really_ easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for, and after you've had its coffee, you'll _never_ be able to go back."

Chloe was about to refute him…until she remembered the taste of that coffee. "Okay, fair point."

By then, they were about to pass by a little alley, but instead of walking past it, Jimmy turned and walked in. Confused, Chloe did the same, only to find that the alley was in fact a hidden drive way, feeding into a small parking-lot in front of a quaint little coffee-shop. Following Jimmy inside, Chloe was amazed at the décor: clean, café-brown walls with roast-brown trim, encircling a small, indoor café, before a small fireplace, with the barista on the other end. Spotting her awed expression, Jimmy chuckled. "I literally stumbled into this place, my first week back from Afghanistan," he said. "The owner's a retired university professor; most of his clientele are undergrad and grad students that took his courses – that's the only way they know about the place – but he gets the odd schmuck that stumbles in."

Looking around, Chloe smiled. "I think I see why he'd want it to be a secret: too many customers coming in at once could wreck the atmosphere."

Jimmy's smile turned bashful as he scratched his head. "So…can I buy you a cup?"

Chloe's eyes went wide with surprise. "Oh! Uh…well…"

"Having fun, you two?"

The sound of that voice brought Chloe out of her surprise, prompting her to turn, where she found Cat Grant sitting at a nearby table, coffee-cup in hand, and a knowing smirk on her face. "You certainly didn't waste any time, Olsen."

Jimmy went redder than his hair. "W-What?" he exclaimed. "N-No, Miss Grant! I was just showing Miss Sullivan where this place was..!"

"Relax, Jimmy; I'm only teasing," Cat said, standing up. "If anything, I'm _glad_ I caught you both here."

Chloe was instantly wary. "And why is that?"

"You worked for the _Bugle_, right, Sullivan?" Cat inquired. "The paper that, before now, got 90-plus percent of Superman's exclusives?"

So _that_ was it. Frowning, Chloe folded her arms. "Your point being..?"

"I just had a couple questions," Cat replied…before she dropped her bomb. "So, just who _is_ the Man of Tomorrow seeing? You _must_ know!"

Chloe was disgusted. "You're kidding."

"I never kid about gossip, kiddo," Cat persisted. "I _know_ there's somebody in that hunk's life; that little statement about his personal life in his introduction interview was _classic_ nondenial if I ever heard it!"

Chloe's eyes narrowed. "Putting aside the fact that I don't know anything about Superman, _especially_ his personal life, _how_ is that any of your business?"

"Oh, come _on,_ honey; people's right to know? Isn't that why we're in this business?"

Now Jimmy was frowning. "Miss Grant, I think that applies to _life-threatening_ events, like invasions or natural disasters," he said. "_Not_ aimless gossip."

"_Thank you!_" Chloe exclaimed.

Cat sighed. "Fine, fine; you don't want to share a byline, that's your call," she relented. "But I _know_ there's a story there, and I _definitely_ plan to dig it up..!"

_KA-THOOOOM!_

Cat blinked as a thunderous rumble echoed above them. "Huh. Speak of the devil."

Chloe looked worried. "I…I don't think that was him, Cat," she murmured. "The sound's off."

Jimmy was more alert. "It wasn't moving," he added. "Low-flying supersonic jets – and superheroes, I guess – Doppler-shift as they fly by. Whatever that was, it's stationary."

Cat arched an eyebrow. "So…something made a sonic boom _without_ moving?"

Chloe felt a chill run up her spine. "It sounds like it," she murmured. "And if that's the case, we'd better check it out!" With those words, she hurried outside, prompting Jimmy and Cat to quickly follow.

By the time they had returned to the main street, Chloe could see what had caused the thunderous rumble: an off-white energy-vortex, swirling high above Metropolis, eerily similar to the portals she'd seen Sentrius generate. Seconds later, the vortex deposited a huge, 500-plus-story-tall vessel in the air above Metropolis, its lithe, spike-like hull coloured black and silver, with countless smaller spikes jutting out from it periodically. As the vortex vanished, the unearthly vessel released dozens upon dozens of smaller, claw-like ships that swarmed the skies above Metropolis, before firing a dark-energy beam into the air from its top spike; instead of clearing atmosphere, the beam diffused into the air, spreading out into a dome that gradually began to cover the sky, creeping towards the ground.

Chloe's unease blossomed into full-out dread. "Okay, that _can't_ be good."

Jimmy wasn't far behind, as he pointed towards the ship. "No, and neither can _that!_" he shouted. Following his gesture, Chloe felt her eyes bug out as she saw _another_ wave depart from the ship – _this_ wave, however, wasn't ships, but an armada of black-cloaked humanoid creatures…_flying just like Superman could._ Like a terrible dark rainstorm, the creatures dropped from the sky, landing all across the city…including the street they were standing on.

As she watched the quartet of pale-skinned, dark-cloaked humanoids land just a few feet from them, Cat smiled sheepishly. "Uh…h-hi, boys!" she greeted nervously. "W-Welcome to Earth!" Snarling, one creature stalked towards them, its clawed hand flexing for a strike…

_CRACKA-THOOM!_

A second thunderous rumble tore through the air, startling the four cloaked aliens as a bolt of lightning crackled in front of them, leaving Thor, Ms. Marvel, Wasp, Giant Man, and the Hulk in its wake. His storm-blue eyes narrowed, Thor brandished his war-hammer towards the creatures. "Stay thy hands, foul beasts, and state thy purpose here, lest you incur our wrath!"

At the aliens' unintelligible reply, Wasp chewed her lip. "Okay, I'm no linguist, but that did _not_ sound friendly."

The aliens quickly proved her right; while the claw-wielding one charged at them, a second drew a laser-pistol weapon, opening up on them with several shots. Raising Mjolnir ahead of him, Thor deflected the incoming blasts, before barely managing to parry the claws of the charging invader. Grunting against the creature's surprising strength, Thor struggled to find footing, until he found his opponent's centre of gravity; ducking low, Thor shoulder-thrusted into the alien's abdomen, and then flew straight up…out of the charging Hulk's path.

"_HULK SMASH!_"

The booming roar of the Hulk startled the creature long enough for Hulk to close on him, utterly _levelling_ him with a haymaker, sending him hurtling back to crash into his comrade, stunning them both. The remaining two drew their weapons, but they were forced to scatter, as Thor dropped down from the air, his hammer slamming into the concrete with the force of a small earthquake, yielding a shockwave that blew them away.

With the local situation dealt with – if only for the moment – Ms. Marvel glanced to Chloe, Jimmy, and Cat. "Is everyone okay?"

Mildly shaken, Chloe nodded. "I think so."

As he and Thor walked back to their teammates, the Hulk frowned. "_Bad Claw-Men tough, like Friend Cape-Man,_" he muttered, shaking his hand out. "_Hard to smash._"

"Aye, friend," Thor agreed. "A most disconcerting notion."

Looking down the road, Giant Man grimaced as he saw the four aliens recovering, joined by four _more._ "Not as much as _that,_ Thor."

Wasp shook her head. "Is it _really_ so much to ask that the bad guys _stay_ down, the first time around?"

The only answer the invaders gave was a salvo of laser-blasts, forcing Giant Man to grow to colossal size, using his foot and shin as a barrier for his comrades, while Wasp shrunk herself, flitting straight at the aliens and peppering them with sting-blasts. Scowling, the creatures shrugged off the stings as they tried to swat the tiny Avenger…which made them perfect targets for Ms. Marvel's force-blasts; charging her hands, Carol let fly with twin bolts, impacting the lead two aliens. As the twin blasts erupted into bursts of heat and light, the two invaders screamed, covering their faces as if burned, which made Carol blink with confusion. '_Huh…never got THAT reaction from my force-blasts, before…_'

As the city skies grew darker, once the dome of shadows had completely surrounded Metropolis, the invaders grew bolder, shedding their cloaks and revealing their pale-skinned, white-haired, tattooed faces; facing shots of increasing accuracy, Wasp darted back to her teammates, returning to normal size. "Okay, what is _with_ these guys? They take a hit from _Hulk_ with no problems, but they freak out from one of _your_ shots? What gives?"

Carol grimaced. "I don't know, but we're obviously going to need reinforcements if we're going to stop them!" she declared. "Thor, get us and these three civilians out of here, _A.S.A.P.!_"

Mjolnir in hand, Thor focused hard…and shook his head. "I cannot! 'Tis this accursed darkness – it be some unholy barrier!"

They were cut off.

Chloe went ghostly pale at that notion, as did Ms. Marvel…but the latter retained enough of her senses to spot one of the creatures speaking into a device on his wrist, which caused two of the fighter-craft to change course, heading towards them. "_Incoming air-strike! Everyone DOWN!_"

Mere moments after Ms. Marvel's warning, the two alien fighters buzzed overhead, the lead fighter firing twin energy-torpedoes into Giant Man's chest, knocking him flat on his back, while its wingman strafed the rest of them from above, forcing them to the ground. As the four Avengers struggled to get up, Hulk recovered first, followed by Thor; shaking his head to clear it, Thor readied his hammer as he looked upon the approaching invaders, sending an understanding nod to the Hulk. "No matter the cost, friend, we must hold these foul beasts back..!"

_KA-THOOOOOM!_

The boom echoed again, right in front of them, as the vortex came back, its shockwave nearly knocking them over, before it vanished, leaving two more aliens in its wake: one older, tall and well-built, clad in a dark, military-style armoured robe, patterned with white glyphs like those tattooed on his face, and one younger, seemingly in his teens, in more conventional armour, bearing a resemblance to the other. Glowering at Thor, the elder scowled. "Be still, man of Earth, or your cohorts are forfeit."

Thor lowered Mjolnir slightly. "You speak, foul one?"

The elder alien snorted. "With difficulty, fool; the range of dialects upon this mud-ball almost made communication impossible. This species should _seriously_ consider a single standard language." He smirked. "Although, that may be a moot point, now."

Ms. Marvel stood up. "Who are you?" she demanded. "Why have you invaded our planet? What do you want?"

The alien's expression was neutral. "If you must know, Earther, I am called Tyr'ell; I am the commander of these forces," he said. "We come from a planet called Dheron, which I am quite sure you have never heard of, so I will spare you any historical information." His eyes narrowed. "As for why, we have come merely to _settle_ an old score of ours."

The younger alien – Dheronian, Chloe guessed – bristled. "Father, I do not understand; why do we hesitate? Why not launch the weapon now?"

"We can leave _nothing_ to chance, this time, Tyr'uk," Tyr'ell answered. "We were fortunate that our error was not discovered until now. A second failure will have dire consequences. We _must_ make sure they cannot leave."

Chloe could be silent no longer. "What are you _talking_ about?" she demanded. "_Who?_ Who can't leave?"

Tyr'ell's stare was coldly pitying. "You really do not know, Earther?" he asked. "Then listen, and _learn_ of the creatures your kind call saviours." He tapped a device on his wrist. "Open all channels – I want them to hear us." After several moments, a beeping answered him, prompting Tyr'ell to begin to speak…

…and Chloe promptly found herself wishing he hadn't.

XXXXXXXX

By the time Superman and the rest of the League – as well as Sentrius' avatar and Maxima – had arrived on-site, all of Metropolis had been engulfed in a shadowy dome. "Okay…that does _not_ look friendly," Spider-Man remarked.

Superman looked grim. "We need eyes in there; Sentrius, can you open a small wormhole inside that dome? Enough to send a scan-wave?"

"_Negative, Commander; scans of that anomaly indicate its field extends partially into subspace. Without analyzing the resonance patterns of the generator that projects it, I am unable to achieve lock-on._"

Hawkgirl frowned. "Great."

Batman turned to Superman. "I'm assuming they weren't capable of this, as far as you knew."

Superman shook his head. "At our last contact, Dheron had only basic in-system space-flight," he said. "How they could have developed…_this_ in so short a time is a puzzle."

Green Arrow snorted. "And Princess Psycho practically _invites_ them here," he muttered. "Nice one, Max."

Maxima bristled. "Do _not_ take that tone with me, human!" she snapped. "Had I known that treacherous swine intended this..!"

Power Girl interrupted her mid-rant. "As much as Maxima deserves it, Arrow, harping on her screw-up won't solve anything," she said.

By then, the Blackbird and the Quinjet were visible in the distance, landing nearby within minutes and allowing the X-Men, X-Force, Captain America, Iron Man, and Black Widow to disembark. "What's the situation?" Cyclops asked.

Flash shrugged. "The usual."

Spyke flinched. "Ouch."

Paling at the sight of the dome, Cap walked next to Superman. "What in the name of Roosevelt did _that?_"

"An old enemy of ours did that, Captain," Supergirl answered. "One Krypton had hoped was gone forever."

Quicksilver groaned. "Oh, don't tell me: you dragged us into _another_ mess, didn't you, Super-Dork?"

Power Girl glared at him. "_No_, Pietro," she snapped, pointing her thumb at Maxima. "_She_ did."

Maxima glowered back. "_How was I to KNOW?_"

"It's called a _reference-check_, lady," Green Lantern said.

"Friends, we are wasting time," J'onn said calmly. "Superman, you had best tell the others what you told us."

Superman took a deep breath. "Krypton's system – the Ku'Raon System – had 6 planets on the day of Krypton's destruction," he began, "but that wasn't always the case. The seventh planet – Dheron – was on an irregular orbit at the very edges of the system; we thought its orbit had been closer, like Krypton's, but it had been changed due to a meteor-impact. Regardless, it would have been near impossible for life to exist on it…but it _did._"

Siryn's eyes widened. "These invaders are from _Krypton's_ system?"

Superman nodded. "Dheron's environment was quite similar to the harsh conditions of ancient Krypton, with few resources beyond the basic essentials. Add in the drop in sunlight caused by the orbit-change, and it was a miracle life could exist at all. At the time of Krypton's Age of Wars, the Dheronians were simple farmers, trying to cultivate what little they could," he said. "The only thing Dheron had in abundance was Raonite ore."

Black Widow arched an eyebrow. "And that is..?"

Supergirl grimaced. "The key fissionable material used in making the first Nova Javelins."

Boom-Boom gulped. "Uh-oh."

Superman picked up where his cousin left off. "Dheron only came within space-travel range of Krypton once every 20 years; once the ancient warlord Jax-Ur realized he had a brief window to a planetfull of Raonite, he quickly established trade with Dheron, giving its people resources and technology in exchange for all the Raonite he needed. This went on for most of the Age; Dheron went from agrarian to industrialized overnight."

Cap closed his eyes grimly. "And then the war stopped."

"Without the Raonite trade, Dheron's economy was on the verge of collapse, its resources all but taxed beyond recovery," Supergirl said. "With their society on the verge of collapse, and their people outraged at our apparent "abandonment," they attacked Krypton every chance they got, trying to raid our world for what they lacked."

Iron Man groaned. "_Uh, boy; it's like Cold-War Middle East meets the Hatfields and the McCoys…_"

Superman kept going. "At first, we were fairly evenly matched, since their tech was based off ours, but as Krypton's scientific revolution went on, their raids became more and more of a nuisance. After several centuries, we invited a delegation from Dheron to take part in a peace-treaty, to try and end the feud."

"Gambit guess dat didn't go so well," Gambit hazarded.

Her face sour, Supergirl nodded. "While their delegates stonewalled the treaty, an infiltration team broke into some of our laboratories and shipyards, trying to steal more technology from us; if the Sapphire Guards hadn't caught on, they might have succeeded!" she declared. "And _that_ was the last straw for us: once the delegation was deported back to Dheron, the Kryptonian Defence Force launched a missile at their world!"

Berzerker did a double-take. "You _nuked_ 'em?"

Superman shook his head. "No, Ray; there were no explosives on the missile. Its warhead contained an energy-drill that let it bore into Dheron's crust, anchoring it into the planet…at which point its more powerful _secondary_ engine ignited," he finished. "The thrust was sufficient to alter its orbit, pushing Dheron far, _far_ out of the system – far enough that they would never be able to reach Krypton again. And that was the last we'd ever heard from them – the race we'd banished to the shadows – until today."

Batman's frown never wavered, but his voice was frigid as he skewered Maxima with a glare. "Congratulations, "Your Ladyship" – you just dragged us all into a _blood-feud._"

Glancing towards Metropolis, Cap spoke again. "So what are we dealing with, here?"

"At the time of the Age, Dheronian physiology was following a similar path to our own, though they hadn't yet evolved the ability to metabolize solar energy," Superman reasoned. "Judging from what I've heard, they've evolved a similar metabolism, with one key difference: where our powers cannot function without light, theirs can't function _with_ it."

"Hence the dome," Angel continued. "Makes sense, since they spent who-knows-how-long without a sun."

"Okay, but how'd they learn how to make that dome?" Shadowcat asked. "That doesn't look like something a bunch of poor cousins could pull off!"

"Sounds like they got some help," Aquaman said. "From someone who didn't like Krypton any more than _they_ did."

"_Terrific,_" Iron Man groused. "_So, what next? Are they just here to gripe about getting kicked out, or are they looking to trade up their planet?_"

As a transmission came through the airwaves, Superman's expression turned firm. "We just found out." With that, he took out his belt-computer, flipping it on.

The voice on the airwaves carried a chilling message. "_We know you can hear us, Kryptonian swine. I am Tyr'ell, of Dheron; you know why we are here. If your kind have the courage to face punishment for your crimes, approach our barrier; refuse, and this planet suffers for it. That is all._"

As the message ended, Power Girl looked at Superman. "Tell me you're not considering walking into…_that!_" she cried, while Krypto whined in agreement.

"_Alia,_ it's that or let them carry out their threat, and if they can muddle Sentrius' sensors, they mean business."

Frowning, Maxima put her hands to her hips. "And what if they do?" she asked. "What odds if this dreary backwater goes up? Withdraw and then destroy these interlopers at your leisure..!"

The multitude of glares Maxima got silenced her, Superman's most of all. "I'm _not_ going to dignify that with a response," he snapped.

Daytripper looked ready to pop. "Aly, _why_ haven't you put her in a _coma_ yet?"

Power Girl folded her arms. "We'd _thought_ she might have useful intel," she said, "but I'm starting to think "useful" and "Maxima" go together as well as "Wile E. Coyote" and "Roadrunner.""

Sentrius looked grave. "_Commander, I must concur with Citizen Ka-Lir's statement; by the First Directive, I cannot allow you to endanger yourself…_"

"I'm not an idiot, Sentrius; I never said we'd go in blind," Superman replied. "Is there _any_ way to get past that barrier without Tyr'ell and his goons seeing it?"

Establishing a link with her station-self, Sentrius pored over the sensor-readout of the dome. "_The dome has apparently pushed sections of subspace into normal space; if my station-self fires a Trans-Phase Laser into a section of it, it could create an aperture sufficiently large for the Argo to pass through while cloaked._"

Batman caught on. "Once we're in, we'll need to disable whatever equipment they have on-site," he said. "Sentrius, Brainiac 5, once through, we'll need you to shut them down; X-Force, J'onn, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and I will accompany you."

Toad looked even greener than normal. "Whoa, _wait_ a minute!" he cried. "You're talking about going up against an _army_ of guys with powers like _Supes'..?_"

"…who have a _vulnerability_ to _light_, Todd," Iceman corrected. "Between Jubilee, Magma, and whatever gadgets Batman and _Sentrius_ have, we can hold 'em off."

Superman nodded. "Once the _Argo_ gets the infiltration-team into position, the rest of you will hold until Tyr'ell pulls his inevitable double-cross; he won't move until he's got me dead in his sights."

"_And_ me!" Power Girl insisted. "If you think I'm letting you face that psychopath alone, you're crazy!"

Superman flinched. "Alia…"

Supergirl cut him off. "He said "your kind," Kal; if any less than _all_ of us show up, he could get spooked."

As Krypto barked in agreement, Superman relented. "Fine, then; the four of us will go in first."

"_Not_ without me!"

At Maxima's declaration, Power Girl glared at her. "Haven't you done _enough_, already?" she spat. "Go _home._"

Maxima didn't back down, meeting Superman's irritated stare. "In case you've forgotten, these "Dheronians" thought to use the Sovereign of Almerac as a pawn!" she shouted. "I intend to make them _regret_ it!" She glowered back at Power Girl. "Our previous business can be discussed _later._"

Power Girl crossed her arms. "Fine, then; after this is over, if you _still_ want me to kick your bratty butt, consider it done."

Superman sighed. "Aly…"

"Just getting it on record, baby."

Tapping his belt-computer, Superman turned towards Cap. "The _Argo_ should be by to pick you all up within a few minutes," he said. "Good luck."

Cap nodded. "You, too." With that, the five of them started to walk towards the shadowy dome.

Within several minutes, they had reached the dome; up-close, it was a swirling, viscous mass of black energy, almost resembling the surface of a Phantom Zone singularity. Taking a deep breath, Superman looked down both sides of the dome, finding no-one there. "Well, we're here." He placed his hands on the dome, testing it – it was solid. "I'm assuming Tyr'ell is going to tell us where the doorbell…"

He got no further, as a small aperture opened in the dome, large enough for them to walk through…and enough to see that the entire city beyond was blanketed in incredibly faint hues of dusk. "I guess that answers _that_ question," he quipped, before turning serious. "Given the Dheronians' intolerance for light, there's a very good chance once we're in, our energy-reserves are going to be limited. Kara, Krypto: if – or rather, when – things get hairy, keep an eye to your internal energies; we can't afford to waste our powers. Alison, since you can generate light, you'll be invaluable; stay alert, and light 'em up if they try to corner us…"

Maxima was incredulous. "You mean, you're going to be at a complete disadvantage…and you're _still_ risking yourself for these…_creatures?_" she asked. "Are you _mad?_"

Supergirl put her hand to her temple. "Kal, do we _have_ to bring her..?"

"Kara," Superman chided, before he frowned at Maxima. "I may have been born on Krypton, Maxima, but Earth is my _home;_ humans are as much my people as Kryptonians are, and I will _not_ abandon them!" he declared. "Furthermore, the Dheronians are Krypton's responsibility; if they're still pursuing this feud, we have to _end_ it."

Power Girl smirked. "If you'd care to bail, Max, go right ahead."

Maxima bristled. "The royal warriors of Almerac fear _nothing!_"

"Good to hear," Superman said, "because we're going in." With that, he walked through the aperture, followed by Power Girl, Supergirl, Krypto, and then Maxima.

Once they were through, Superman immediately had to squint to even see in the shadow-covered city; the darkness enshrouding Metropolis was more oppressive than he'd realized. As the others stepped through, Krypto immediately started growling; glancing towards the direction Krypto faced, Superman squinted harder, and saw. "We've got company."

Sure enough, four cloaked Dheronian soldiers – Vengeance Commandos – stalked into visible range, their hateful scowls visible beneath their hoods as they blocked their path. "Okay, guys, your boss said he wanted to see us," Power Girl said. "Move?"

The Commandos didn't budge, their claws starting to inch out of their cloaks.

Superman crossed his arms. "You have two choices: you can let us go, and get a shot at us _after_ your commander says so, or you can take your chances now, and then explain to _him_ why you cheated him of a chance to deal with us…_if_ you win. Your call."

The lead Commando's scowl grew, but he moved his claw back under his cloak, before motioning forward, with one Dheronese word, as he and his comrades stepped aside. "_X'oth._" _Go._ The five of them never argued, as they kept going.

Her eyes occasionally flashing electric blue, Supergirl's expression became mildly nervous as they walked. "I count over a dozen Dheronians on that city block alone," she reported, before glancing skyward. "Plus that command-ship and those fighters, and Dheron has an impressive army."

"I see them, too," Superman agreed. "No doubt about it: Dheron's made a powerful friend."

"Anyone you know?" Power Girl asked. "Because guys with that kind of firepower to throw away _have_ to be on a short list."

"True, _taushi,_ but I can't think of anyone on that list that harboured a grudge against Krypton," Superman mused. "This tech almost looks Class Four, or maybe Five, and the only Fives I can think of on top of my head are Azerath, Kymellia, Oa, and New Genesis, and they were all our allies."

"So this could be someone new," Supergirl said. "Someone we've never heard of?"

"It's possible," Superman agreed. "Scary, but possible."

Power Girl half-smiled. "So then we're _not_ dealing with a bunch of psychos that can be scared away so easily?" she asked. "I guess that means using your singing as a tactical weapon is out."

"Funny, Aly."

Maxima blinked. "What did you say?"

Power Girl rolled her eyes. "I said we're _not_ dealing with someone we can scare away."

"No. _After_ that."

Power Girl paused. "What, the crack about his singing?"

Maxima bristled. "_Yes_, fool! What did you mean?"

Power Girl's expression turned annoyed. "I was just teasing him about his bad singing, that's all!" she replied. "Just this morning, while he and I were showering, he sang – or _tried_ to sing – our song to me."

Superman chuckled. "You didn't seem to mind, too much."

Power Girl giggled. "The sheer sweetness of you trying to sing for me scores you enough bonus-points to make up for the fact that you can't carry a tune to save your life, baby." Her smile waned as she noticed Maxima's irate look. "Okay, _now_ what?"

Maxima choked out her reply. "The scion of the noble House of El…does _NOT_ sing asinine love-songs!"

Superman snorted. "I hate to break this to you, Maxima, but yes, I do," he corrected. "Albeit only for my _taushi._"

Power Girl shrugged. "Thankfully for everyone, he doesn't do it in public…"

"_NO!_" Maxima shouted. "My future King is _not_ some over-sentimental oaf! He is a peerless warrior, a skilled commander, and a brilliant tactician..!"

"First of all, Max, he is _not_ "your King"!" Power Girl snapped. "Second, yes, he _is_ all those other things, but that's only scratching the surface!" Fixing a flirtatious smile on Superman, she kept going. "This big lug has _lots_ of goofy little habits and idiosyncracies, and I know and adore _all_ of them, just the same way that _he_, for some reason, loves all of _mine._" Turning her frown back on Maxima, she finished her statement. "You're just caught up in some fantasy, Maxima; like he said, you don't even _know_ him."

Maxima could not respond to that.

Glancing ahead, Superman spotted the rest of the Avengers – as well as Chloe, Jimmy, and Cat – surrounded by numerous Dheronian soldiers…including one that had to be in charge. As they walked up to them, Superman looked to the captives. "Everyone okay?"

Thor nodded grimly. "As well as can be expected, lad," he muttered. "Yon villains be a force to be reckoned with; be on guard."

"Oh, you don't have to tell me, Thor," Superman said, as he met the Dheronian commander glare-for-glare. "Tyr'ell of Dheron, I presume."

Tyr'ell glowered back. "_Formerly_ of Dheron, you mean," he spat. "We had little choice but to leave, after what your kind _did_ to us; remaining upon Dheron would have meant death for _all_ our people!"

Supergirl's eyes briefly flared. "You attacked _us_, Dheronian; ever since the Age of Wars, you sniped at us every chance you had! We tried to reason with you, but you wouldn't _listen..!_"

The younger Dheronian next to Tyr'ell – and bearing a strong resemblance to him – spoke up. "Your people refused to give us what we _needed_ to _survive!_ Your kind _used_ us, and then discarded us when we were no longer useful, leaving us to _starve!_"

Superman kept his cool. "_Jax-Ur_ used you," he corrected. "I think _both_ our ancestors have gone over and over that point thousands of times, and gotten no further than we would, today."

Tyr'ell was a little calmer, but not by much. "Perhaps not, but what of the fact that after your people drove our world _out_ of the Ku'Raon System? With Dheron all but freezing to death, what choice did we have _but_ to flee?" His eyes hardened. "It took us years to assemble a number of arkships to escape with the little supplies we had – and forcing us to leave _behind_ a sizable majority of our people – but we did so…and even _then_, our plight remained! We were forced to _scavenge_, like rodents, flitting from world to world, taking whatever we could find, only landing on the darkened halves of planets, our own bodies unable to tolerate the light _you_ took from us!"

Tyr'ell's face was twisted with hate, now. "And the _final_ indignity?" he finished. "As we wandered, homeless, we heard rumors of those that had exiled us; _your_ people were lauded, almost _worshipped_, by the rest of the universe, while _we_ were cast out and left to _rot_, simply for demanding what was _rightfully_ ours!"

Superman remained calm. "Is that why you're here?" he hazarded. "You expect us to help you find a new home?"

Tyr'ell laughed harshly. "Look around you, ignorant creature! Do we _look_ as if we need your help?" he sneered. "After aeons of wandering, we were miraculously found by our god; mere minutes after encountering him, we were given food, medicine, and ships powerful enough to make your Jax-Ur _tremble!_ Now _we_ were the ones with power, enough to fool those in thrall of _your_ kind!" He chuckled. "Ironic, no? That your old foes should be brought here by one of your people's thralls?"

Infuriated, Maxima pushed past Superman. "You lying _wretch!_ You _DARE_ to use me as your pawn? Do you know who you trifle with?"

Tyr'ell's frown was darkly sardonic. "More so than even _you_ know, Maxima of Almerac: a self-centred, spoiled, over-indulged, tyrannical brat. Were I to kill you here and now, the only response I would receive from Almerac would be jubilant cheering; perhaps I should do them a favour and _rid_ them of you."

As Maxima's fury fizzled out from that statement, Superman spoke again. "I'm more interested in hearing about this "god" of yours, Tyr'ell. Who is he?"

Power Girl nodded. "Whoever he is, you can't believe he gave you all that without strings! He _must've_ had some catch..!"

The younger Dheronian laughed. "Yes, half-breed, _that_ much is true, but his "catch" was nothing we wouldn't have done anyway!"

Tyr'ell smirked. "Do you begin to understand _now_, son of El? Child of a dead world?" His smirk grew darker. "Or rather, a _murdered_ world?"

Everything in Superman's mind ground to a halt at that. "_What?_"

Tyr'ell kept going. "You honestly didn't think planets simply exploded for no _reason_, did you? Not without _decades_ of warning?" he asked. "Our god had but two commandments. The first was to hold our revenge back until the time was right…such as when your war with the idiot Shi'ar ended."

The younger one picked up where Tyr'ell left off. "Once you fools dropped your Planet-Shield, we _knew_ the time was right!" he declared. "Using the Boom-Tube technology, we teleported a series of probes _directly_ into Krypton's core, generating a force-field that prevented heat from dissipating upwards!"

Tyr'ell nodded. "After that, we had only to _wait,_" he said. "Mere months after we deployed the probes, Krypton exploded, ridding us of our ancient foes…or so we _thought._" His smirk had vanished, replaced by a scowl. "Our god's second decree was that _nothing_ – no man, woman, child, animal, or machine – of Krypton could be allowed to survive when we struck. At the time, we had thought both decrees had been fulfilled…until we heard rumours of _you_, a survivor. When we later heard that the Kree and Skrulls had been humbled by that crystal monstrosity you dragged into this system, we _knew_ we had failed the second." His fist clenched. "From what I hear, it was _your_ father that both discovered the buildup in the core _and_ crafted the dratted vessel that let you escape, but it is of no consequence now." His smile came back. "And _that_, Kryptonian scum, brings us here, to the four of _you._"

Snarling, Krypto bared his fangs, his leg-muscles coiled like springs, ready to pounce. Power Girl and Supergirl both wore identical expressions of fury, while Superman's eyes glowed a deadly red, his fists clenched, his voice roaring out a single accusing word.

"_**MURDERERS!**_"

Before Tyr'ell could even blink, Superman's eye-ray lanced towards him, forcing him to dodge…and not completely evading the deadly beam as it grazed his neck, the refocused sunlight sending him into howls of agony. Power Girl and Supergirl opened up with their own eye-rays, sweeping them over the Dheronian Commandos guarding the Avengers, forcing them to pull back amidst cries of pain, their skin seared by the caustic light. Getting back to his feet, Tyr'ell glowered at Superman, his seared flesh starting to mend in the shadows. "You've just signed your own _death-warrant_, Kryptonian scum!"

Briefly spotting a faint neon-green glow in the upper layers of the shadow-dome, Superman met Tyr'ell's glare with his own. "_Bring_ it, Dheronian."

XXXXXXXX

_A few minutes earlier_

Calling the mood within the cockpit of the _Argo_ "tense" would have been a colossal understatement.

Minutes after Superman and his team had made for the shadowy dome, the sleek Speeder appeared on the horizon, reaching them in mere seconds as it swept up the entire group – X-Men, X-Force, the Justice League, the three Avengers, and the creepy-looking robo-chick – in its teleporter wave, depositing them within the crystalline interior of the ship, prompting Quicksilver to steady himself against a wall as he fought a wave of nausea. '_Man, I'm never gettin' used to that…this better not give me cancer or something…_'

As the robo-chick took the controls, Captain America moved to the front, glancing out the view-screen at the dome. "Sentrius, you're sure your beam can penetrate this mess?"

"_Given the detectable phase-variances scanned from the exterior dome, Captain Rogers, I can conclude that a Phase-Shift beam has a 90 percent chance of creating an aperture of sufficient size._"

Blob blinked. "Hang on…isn't "Sentrius" the name of that big space-station?"

Siryn nodded. "Indeed it is, Fred," she noted. "It would seem that Sentrius' A.I. is also capable of operating an android shell remotely."

"_Your basic premise is correct, Co-Sovereign Anita,_" Sentrius replied. "_In order to facilitate my interactions with Commander El and the rest of his team, I requested that I be allowed to utilize this drone-avatar…which has proved prudent, in this case._"

Leap looked mildly perplexed. "Meaning..?"

"_While the full extent of my station-self's capabilities can only be accessed by Commander El's Command Module, I am capable of deploying a limited number of ships and weapons solely on my own authority,_" Sentrius answered. "_Otherwise, I would have not been so effective a defence against Kree and Skrull incursions against Krypton. By keeping this avatar on-site, I can quickly deploy needed reinforcements without the Commander needing to access his Module._"

Lifting up his armour's visor, Tony Stark whistled. "So, you're basically a walking weapons-platform?" he asked. "What I wouldn't give to check your specs…"

"_Putting aside the fact that doing so would grossly violate the Law of Riona Prime, Anthony Stark, making such a request would be considered immensely rude._"

Tony reached for his visor. "Can't blame an inventor for trying…"

Wonder Woman rolled her eyes. "Incorrigible."

Moving next to him, Berzerker nudged Quicksilver with his elbow. "_Dude._ Iron Man just got _faced_ by a _robot._"

Quicksilver somehow managed to keep himself from laughing. "Whatever." '_I'm not getting attached to these guys, I'm not getting attached…_'

As she guided the _Argo_ towards the swirling shadows, Sentrius' green eyes flared yellow, wirelessly linking with the Speeder's targeting systems. "_Activating Point-to-Point Generator, and arming Trans-Phase Laser Cannons,_" she reported. "_Target locked. Fire._"

Seconds after she'd spoken, the Speeder's HUD showed a swirling vortex opening in the air several meters to the _Argo_'s starboard, right before a neon-green laser beam lanced from it, boring deep into the shadowy mass, thinning out a section of it, leaving a semi-transparent space big enough for the _Argo_ to pass through. "_Engaging cloak,_" Sentrius reported, as she switched on the Speeder's cloaking system, turning it completely invisible, before guiding it into the open fissure, which soon closed behind them.

With the dome re-sealed, the dimly twilit Metropolis now lay before them, its skyline taken up by the colossal Dheronian mothership, its countless bladed fighters swarming around it like wasps. Gazing at the massive vessel, Polaris gulped. "We're _sure_ they can't see us, right?"

Sentrius pored over the sensor-readouts, her immaculately calm expression never shifting. "_I am detecting no scan-sweeps, and no Dheronian fighter-craft are vectoring in our direction._"

Havoc let out a relieved sigh. "Good to know."

Guiding the Speeder alongside the mothership, Sentrius turned around. "_Once we have teleported aboard, the Argo's autopilot will take you directly to Commander El's location; at his signal, it will teleport the rest of you directly to the engagement zone._"

Cap nodded. "We've done landings under fire before, Sentrius."

Sentrius kept going. "_As I have obtained new intel from the Watchtower's infiltrators, I have prepared an updated tactical analysis_" she said. "_Cyclops, as your optic-discharges are primarily solar-based, you will both breach Dheronian defences and provide cover-fire, as all other offensive manoeuvres will have vastly reduced effectiveness unless preceded by solar bursts; Green Lantern, as your ring-constructs comprise the green wavelength of the visible light spectrum, you will best be suited to a similar role._"

Glancing at his ring, Green Lantern nodded. "Okay by me."

Her processors flashing, Sentrius glanced to Iron Man. "_Anthony Stark, I am sending your armour a set of wavelength- and frequency-corrections to be applied to your repulsors – they are the same corrections I am applying to my avatar's weaponry in order to match their discharges to sunlight. I highly recommend you do the same._"

Flipping down his visor, Iron Man nodded. "_Gotcha._"

Finally, Sentrius turned to Cap. "_Captain Rogers, as your shield is partially composed of vibranium, you will be able to amplify and disperse any solar burst applied to it; should the Dheronians attempt to swarm with large numbers, this will be essential._"

Glancing at his shield, Cap nodded. "Understood."

Turning back to the _Argo's_ HUD, Sentrius brought up a schematic of the ship. "_Based on both the Argo's sensor-sweeps and the intel I acquired from the Dheronian Commando, our target will be the bridge of the mothership,_" she said. "_As they cannot tolerate most wavelengths of light, the ship's interior will be near-total darkness, which will be compounded by their ability to see in infrared. Since the Argo's teleporter may be detectable to their sensors, Leap will have to teleport us aboard; once there, Phantom will encircle us with an invisibility field, while Magma and Jubilee provide light. Upon reaching the bridge – providing we are not discovered beforehand – we will drop cloak and engage the bridge-crew, while Brainiac 5 infiltrates their database and uploads the relevant files to me, at which point the Argo will extract us._"

Gambit shrugged. "Simple enough, seems like."

Leap scowled. "Says the man who _doesn't_ have to 'port through an entire _mothership._"

Poring over the scan of their intended entry-site, Sentrius narrowed her optics. "_Lifesign-scans indicate our entry-site is now free of personnel, making now an opportune time for infiltration,_" she reported. "_Leap, your target is directly ahead of us, through approximately 20 meters of the mothership's hull._"

Leap took a deep breath. "Okay; just give me a minute."

Cap nodded. "Good luck."

Standing up from the controls, Sentrius turned to Phantom. "_I suggest you deploy your invisibility field now,_" she said. "_Leap: teleport when ready._"

Leap scrunched her eyes. "Okay…here we go..!"

For one moment, there was a brilliant flash of light, before X-Force, Batman, Wonder Woman, J'onn, Aquaman, and Sentrius found themselves in utter darkness. Glancing around, Batman narrowed his eyes. "Magma. Light."

"Got it." Quickly igniting her hand, Magma illuminated the surrounding space, to J'onn and K'imm's mild discomfort, revealing a vast corridor, lined with black sigils.

Looking around, Wonder Woman grimaced. "I see their décor is far from welcoming."

Berserker didn't argue. "Hey, what'd you expect from folks that live in the dark, 24/7?"

Sentrius' optics flared yellow, as she went on alert. "_With respect, this conjecture serves no purpose; our objective is to seize the bridge,_" she stated. "_Based on our current position, the bridge is five minutes' travel south through this corridor._"

"Understood," Batman said. "Everyone stay alert; J'onn, K'imm, if any Dheronians approach, we'll need you to put them to sleep – in this closed space, we'll be at a significant disadvantage." No-one argued that point, as the entire team headed down the corridor.

After several minutes of walking – with no sign of any Dheronians – Leviathan looked around warily. "Okay, I'll admit I'm glad that we haven't been ambushed – yet – but doesn't it seem weird that nobody's around..?"

Suddenly, the sounds of two voices grumbling in some esoteric language came from further down the corridor. "You were saying?" Aquaman muttered.

Seconds later, two Dheronian soldiers walked into view, completely unaware that anyone was there, approaching their cloaked space fast. Quickly, J'onn and Miss Martian reached out with their telepathy; breaching one's mental guards easily, J'onn put one soldier to sleep, but K'imm had a bit more trouble than her father – wincing at the sudden headache, the Dheronian slowed his steps, stumbling forward…and through the cloaking-field.

The instant he came through, and was exposed to Magma's torchlight, the Dheronian let out a scream of pure agony, covering his face by pure reflex. Acting quickly, Batman took advantage of the hesitation, firing his grapnel-gun; as the cable snagged his armour, the Dheronian found himself yanked into the Dark Knight's striking-range, where he was slammed with a clothesline, knocking him to the floor, out cold. With the potential threat dealt with, Batman looked around, waiting for any sign they had been detected. "Did anyone else hear that scream?"

As if to answer him, a device on the Dheronian's armour – a communicator – suddenly started babbling in that same language, its tone growing steadily more alarmed. Jubilee flinched. "I think somebody just did!"

Iceman nodded. "Sentrius, are we close to the bridge?"

"_Affirmative, Iceman; the bridge entrance is a minute in this direction. However, the probability that it will be fortified upon our arrival has increased from 0.32 to 0.94._"

Angel groaned. "Terrific."

Reaching into his utility belt, Batman withdrew a small gel-sphere. "Maximoff: you can reach the bridge doors faster than we can. Run to those doors, slap this on them, and then get clear; once it's crushed, the gel will detonate within five seconds."

Looking annoyed, Quicksilver took the sphere. "One problem with that plan, Bats: how am I supposed to see?"

Iceman was already ahead of him. "Jubilee, think you can light his way?" Jubilee nodded. "There's your answer, Pietro; Jubes'll go piggyback with you."

Walking towards Quicksilver, Jubilee looked nervous. "Just _don't_ go Mach Three, okay? I don't want to get my face blown away!"

Quicksilver's frown grew. "Spoilsport," he muttered. "Fine, fine, hop on."

As Jubilee hopped onto Quicksilver's back, J'onn spoke up. "We'll be right behind you," he assured them. "Once the bridge is breached, leave the rest to us."

"Whatever," Quicksilver said. "Try to keep up, will you, Lee?"

Jubilee bristled. "Oh, _don't_ worry about me, Maximoff!" she snapped. "Now _move_ it!" Smirking, Quicksilver broke into a run, with Jubilee firing her light-bursts ahead of him.

Loathe as he was to admit it, Jubilee's fireworks did a pretty good job of lighting up the corridor, Quicksilver noted – at his brisk pace – though molasses-slow compared to his top speeds – he would have crashed into several wide turns, if not for the bursts of multicoloured light sparking from Jubilee's fingertips. After about a minute, Quicksilver spotted a heavily-fortified door, guarded by two Dheronian commandos, just as Sentrius had predicted. "Lee! _Light 'em up!_"

The Dheronians barely had time to wince from the approaching light as Jubilee let loose a pyrotechnic surge worthy of the Fourth of July, sending the nocturnal aliens into shrieks of agony as the light-bursts impacted them. With the Dheronians out of commission momentarily, Quicksilver slapped the gel-bomb against the door, and then hightailed to the side, letting Jubilee off his back as they both braced themselves around a nearby side-corridor…

_**BOOOOOOM!**_

Batman's gel-bomb worked like a charm, erupting in a massive pressure-wave that pushed the door _well_ out of its frame, and leaving both Quicksilver and Jubilee with ringing ears. In the dimly fading light of both the explosion and Jubilee's pyrotechnics, Quicksilver and Jubilee half-staggered out from their hiding spot…only to come face-to-face with the incredulous – and angry – bridge-crew: twenty Dheronian bridge-officers and ten commandos. Quicksilver gulped, glancing behind him and finding nothing. '_So much for the cavalry showing up..!_'

He never got a chance to finish that thought before a burst of lightning shot out of nowhere, electrocuting the lead commando, followed by a cluster of glowing cherry-bombs that arced after it, unleashing a series of explosions within the bridge that sent the crew into chaos. With the crew distracted, Phantom dropped her cloaking field, revealing herself and the rest of the team. Her optics now glowing an angry red, Sentrius reached towards her legs, just as twin panels opened in her outer thighs, depositing twin crystal handguns in her grip. Using expert aim, Sentrius opened fire, pasting two more commandos with pulses of concentrated solar energy, knocking them back and sending them into howls of agony, before charging a larger solar burst and firing it into the bridge, where it detonated in a massive flare, stunning and weakening the entire crew.

As the bridge-crew faltered, in complete disarray, Magma unloaded a trio of lava-blasts at two commandos, while Cannonball ignited himself, barreling into two more, clearing the way for the others to advance. By then, the crew had started to regain its balance, the remaining commandos drawing and opening fire with their weapons, forcing Colossus, Blob, and Husk, the latter having shed her skin, to act as a wall, while J'onn let loose a telepathic surge that temporarily paralyzed their attackers, allowing Wonder Woman and Aquaman to charge. Firing his grapnel-arm, Aquaman was able to disarm one commando before he could regain his senses, but that left the remaining four free to open fire on Wonder Woman, who managed to block their shots with her armlets. Seeing her teammate in trouble, Miss Martian turned to Leviathan – at a nod from him, she telekinetically launched him like a missile, plowing him into the commandos like a scale-armoured wrecking-ball, taking all four of them down.

Spotting an opening, Batman lobbed two flash-bang grenades at several bridge-officers, their light-bursts stunning and weakening them enough for him to fire his grapnel-line and pull himself towards them, taking one down with a flying kick. Angel quickly followed his lead, managing to get airborne enough to drop on another with a falling axe-handle strike. With the way cleared, Batman glanced towards the others. "Mark. Sentrius. Reinforcements are likely en route; we don't have much time."

At Batman's urging, Sentrius laid down several more bursts of suppressing fire, before she darted towards the nearest computer-console, followed by Brainiac 5, Multiple, and Wolfsbane. Several Dheronian officers moved to intercept them, but Brainiac 5 quickly assumed battle-mode, pasting two with his force-cannons, allowing Wolfsbane to assume wolf-state, leaping on the third and tearing her fangs into his shoulder, dropping him in seconds, leaving the fourth to get dog-piled by a veritable horde of Jamies. With the path cleared, Brainiac 5 and Sentrius reached the console easily; placing her handguns back in her thigh-compartments, Sentrius morphed her fingers into a single nano-blade, before stabbing it into the console, while Mark extended a nano-fibril from his palm into the computer. As he and Sentrius tore through the mothership's firewalls, Brainiac 5's eyes went wide. "Sentrius, we're in their main databank – all their technical schematics are here."

"_Affirmative; I am analyzing them now,_" Sentrius answered. "_It appears their "Boom-Tube" technology was based upon extensive study of Krypton's World-Gates – whoever developed it did so after millennia of research._"

Brainiac 5 nodded. "I cannot find any reference to who developed it, other than reference to their "Shadow God.""

"_Nor I; whoever gave it to them covered their tracks well._" Sentrius' optics flickered. "_I have now decrypted their technology's phase-variance; I am now back in contact with my station-self._" She paused. "_I have target-lock on the mothership; estimated three minutes to deployment of Trans-Phase Lasers. Immediate egress recommended._"

Brainiac 5 nodded, before he frowned. "I am now accessing their historical database; perhaps I can find out who…" His eyes went wide. "S-Sentrius…they…they destroyed..!"

Sentrius' voice had grown colder. "_I see it,_" she said. "_At present, however, the fact that they are attempting to use the same weapon on Earth is more pressing. We must disable their teleporters._"

Brainiac 5 nodded, joining Sentrius' attack on the mothership's systems. "Iceman: we have three minutes to evacuate, but we have to take out their weapons!"

"Got it!" Iceman declared. "K'imm, Roberto, let's pile 'em up!" At Iceman's order, Sunspot – after absorbing enough residual solar energy from Sentrius' gunfire – assumed his powered state, and unloaded a barrage of plasma-blasts; the solar bursts forced the remaining Dheronian crewmen to cluster, repelled by the energy, at which point Miss Martian telekinetically shoved them into the nearest corner, allowing Iceman to seal them up with a wall of ice. At first, the wall held, but as angry shouts in Dheronese became louder, glowing spots appeared in the ice – weapons-fire. "Toad! _Plug those holes!_"

"On it!" Hocking his throat, Toad fired off a slime-loogie just as one large hole melted through, splatting it shut – and splatting the face of the shooter, judging from the curse-like tone of the shouts that followed. Spotting another hole, Toad quickly slime-loogied it closed…and then the next hole.

And then the _next._

After six patches, Toad felt his throat going dry. "Uh, Brainy? Robo-chick?" he coughed. "You guys almost done..?"

Sentrius' optics flared with light as her quantum processors whirred. "_The targeting systems the mothership uses for Boom-Tube lock-on are now disabled. Attempting to shut down conventional weapons…_"

Brainiac 5 quickly interrupted. "One crewman managed to sound the alarm: we have reinforcements inbound."

Batman's eyes narrowed. "How many?"

Brainiac 5 paled. "Too many."

The approaching shouts of more troopers from the corridor only emphasized that statement, prompting Sentrius and Brainiac 5 to detach from the console. "_Given the circumstances, immediate egress would be prudent; two minutes, thirty seconds to Trans-Phase Laser deployment._"

"So then get Super-Dork's muscle-car over here!" Quicksilver shouted.

Sentrius shook her head. "_Unable to comply; the Argo is presently supplying air-support to Commander El and his team. Based on present data, it will be unable to assist us for the next two minutes and forty-five seconds._"

Iceman turned to Leap. "Lila, can you get us out of here?"

"If I could see where I was going, sure!"

Batman thought fast. "Sentrius, is any part of the bridge directly adjacent to the outer hull?"

"_Affirmative: the bridge lies on the underside of the main spire; the bridge's floor is adjacent to the hull._"

Iceman nodded. "Sunspot, Magma, get _cutting!_" At once, Sunspot and Magma both unleashed twin molten streams at the floor, starting to cut through the metal plating.

As the shouts of the Dheronian soldiers grew louder, Multiple gulped. "What about them?"

Sentrius drew her revolvers once more. "_Colossus, Wonder Woman, J'onn J'onzz, Daytripper, and Havok, hold positions here; if any get past me, you must stop them._"

Wonder Woman's eyes went wide. "Sentrius, are you mad? You cannot fight so many alone..!"

"_Your concerns are appreciated, Princess Diana, but unnecessary,_" Sentrius replied. "_These are among the oldest enemies of Krypton._"

Her optics narrowed fiercely. "_Strictly speaking, they are __**exactly**__ what I was designed and built to __**fight.**_"

By then, the Dheronian reinforcements – about fifty troopers – began to spill into the adjoining corridor. Holding her revolvers at the ready, Sentrius charged straight at them…and then darted to the side, running _along_ the side of the wall, strafing into the center of their force before leaping into the middle of them. The uninjured troopers struggled to react, but Sentrius was faster: aiming dead ahead, she fired three rounds with deadly accuracy, before pivoting left, evading their return-fire and firing to her right, and then pivoting right, shooting directly behind her and over her shoulder, clearing a small space around her. Switching her revolvers to rapid-fire mode, Sentrius followed by spraying her attackers with solar bullets in an almost perfect circle, interrupted only when one trooper pinned her in a headlock from behind, forcing her to drop her weapons. Snarling, the Dheronian readied a blade, to slice into her neck-servos…but his growls turned to screams as his face was instantly perforated by quill-like crystal spikes.

As her ambusher fell, Sentrius relaxed her hair-fibrils, her sensors instantly analyzing the situation to give one output: _Melee combat imminent._ Bringing her hand-to-hand subroutines online, Sentrius split her left hand open between her middle fingers, extending a long, sword-type nano-blade between them, while her right fingers extended into long, spindly-thin claws, as both her arms grew hard ridges along her forearms, ending in deadly spikes at her elbows. Spotting one trooper attacking high with his clawed gauntlet, Sentrius blocked the strike with her right forearm-ridge, before spinning into an elbow-strike that smashed her arm-spike into his chin. As that attacker fell, Sentrius pressed her attack against another, feinting high with two stabs of her hand-blade, followed by a low slice to the leg, incapacitating him. Two more opened fire on her, but Sentrius twisted and gyrated out of the way with a ballerina's grace, clipping three troopers on the chin with her double whirling-kick, landing in a perfect position to fire her claw-darts at the two crack-shots; as the darts pierced their skin, delivering their nanite payloads, the two Dheronians screamed with pain…before their eyes glazed over, and they began to open fire on their comrades, stopping only when the nanites infesting their brains ran their course, self-terminating and leaving their hosts comatose.

With Sentrius directly engaging the Dheronian infantry, all that was left for Colossus, Wonder Woman, Havok, Daytripper, and J'onn to handle was the trickle of troopers that managed to get past the deadly crystal fighting-machine. Seeing five stagger past Sentrius, Havok and Daytripper opened up on them, pasting three troopers with force-blasts. Raising a TK-barrier, the Martian Manhunter repelled the incoming shots of the other two troopers, giving Diana a chance to snare one with her lasso, yanking him forward and slamming him with a clothesline-strike. As the other approached, Colossus ducked under his claw-slash, to slam him with a tackle and then straighten, lifting him up like a sack of potatoes, to throw him into three more charging commandos. "Sentrius! How much time is left?"

Parrying one trooper's slice with her hand-blade, Sentrius quickly twisted to envelop the trooper's claw, leaving him open to her claws as she stabbed him in the chest with surgical precision, her needle-strikes infesting him with nanites that turned him into another zombie as she calmly answered Piotr's call. "_One minute, ten seconds to Laser-deployment; immediate egress is recommended._"

By then, Sunspot and Magma had finished burning a circular cut through the bridge's floor; with one electromagnetic shove, Polaris pushed it out, causing a blistering gale to whip through the bridge, almost sucking half of them out. "We've got an exit!" Iceman declared. "Lila, think you can 'port us out _now?_"

Leap nodded. "Sure!" she answered. "Where to?"

"Wherever Kal, Aly, and Kara are!"

Leap blinked. "And that would be _where..?_"

Berzerker snorted. "Just aim for the place with the most explosions."

"Oh. Duh."

Starting to pull back, Wonder Woman shouted over the mass of troopers. "Sentrius! We're ready to evacuate!"

"_Understood._" Retracting her melee-weapons, Sentrius spotted her handguns and kicked them airborne, catching them as they fell. Rearmed, she pasted the three troopers closing on her rear, before backflipping away and dashing towards the others as they crowded near Leap. "_Warning: twenty-five seconds to Laser-deployment; it is recommended that we evacuate immediately…_"

"I _get_ it!" Leap shouted. "Forgive me if I'm still a little tired!"

Toad looked panicked. "It sure beats bein' toast..!"

"Will you _quit_ rushing me?" Leap snapped. "Okay, hang on; this'll be rough..!"

As Leap's light-flash engulfed them, Quicksilver fought to catch his breath. '_Man, Super-Dork oughtta thank his lucky stars he's down there…_'

XXXXXXXX

_A few minutes earlier_

Up until that moment, Superman thought he knew the limits of his anger, that the betrayal of General Zod had pushed him as far as he could be pushed.

But now – in the wake of the fact that Krypton, and his entire people with it, had been _assassinated_, in little more than an act of sheer _spite_ – he knew better.

Tyr'ell had simply raised his hand and waved it forward, committing his legions of Vengeance Commandos to the fray when Superman's eye-ray took him full in the chest, searing his outer armour and sending him hurtling across the street. As the Commandos flew at them, Giant Man resumed his titanic height, swatting most of them away while Ms. Marvel and Wasp buzzed them with photon-blasts and sting-bursts, until one of the Dheronian fighters opened up on him, knocking him down. As Giant Man fell, the Hulk leapt into the air, tackling into the attacking fighter and pounding it with his fists, his deadly hammer-blows battering through its shields until he hit its hull, completely _pancaking_ the cockpit and sending it hurtling to the ground, at which point he leapt off, to grab another fighter. Having since recovered from the initial attack, a dozen Commandos darted into the air, chasing after the Hulk; one dove at Hulk, raking him across the back with his energy-claws, causing him to howl with pain before swatting the Commando away. A second leapt onto Hulk's back, trying to pin him with a chokehold, while a third took aim with his firearm, pasting Hulk with a laser-salvo. Snarling, Hulk twisted into a back-elbow strike, knocking away his piggy-backer, only to find his grip slipping from the aerial sniper's shots…

Nodding to Thor briefly, Supergirl shot into the air, with Krypto by her side; closing on Hulk's attacker in seconds, Supergirl inhaled deeply, and let loose a burst of freezing breath, icing over both the Dheronian and his weapon, leaving him easy prey for the Superdog's teeth. As Krypto chomped on the Commando's shoulder, driving him back down towards the ground, Kara paused to catch her breath, her internal reserves mildly taxed by the absence of the sun…which left her vulnerable to a fourth Commando that tackled her from behind, grabbing her cape and yanking downwards; with Supergirl off-balance, the Commando readied his claws…

…only to get slammed in the face by a flying war-hammer.

As his target dropped like a fly, Thor simply gestured, willing Mjolnir back into his grasp in time to block the claw-slash of another Dheronian, countering by slamming his hammer into the invader's stomach, knocking him across the skyline like a baseball struck by a home-run swing. Watching four more Commandos change course to attack him, Thor released Mjolnir's handle and grasped its strap, spinning the hammer at blinding speed, summoning the force of the wind around it…and then unleashing the tornado he'd called down, sucking the Commandos into it and sending them swirling away. Chuckling, Thor was about to turn and find a new opponent, but a lucky shot from a Dheronian fighter knocked him out of the sky.

Out of the corner of her eye, Maxima only half-saw the hammer-wielder fall, but she was too engrossed in battle to bother; with a jubilant smile on her face, Maxima raised her hand, summoning a psychokinetic wall that blocked the shots of three Dheronians, before she charged at them, brandishing her blade. The lead Commando blocked her overhead slash, but Maxima simply followed with a kick to the pale creature's knee, bending it so she could use it as a step for a flip-kick, clipping the Dheronian in the chin. Seeing the other two move to intercept her, Maxima laughed as she pivoted in mid-air, to dive at them, blade-first; the second Commando barely had enough time to pull back as Maxima stabbed downwards, her sword cleaving a fine cut along his armoured gauntlet before she spun into a backspin strike, slicing apart the Commando's armoured chestplate – though not damaging the turgid flesh beneath it – and finishing with a back-kick to his chin. With his comrade down, the third Commando panicked, racing forward to slash Maxima's unprotected back, but Maxima simply parried to the rear, countering by twisting into a reverse-slash that would have decapitated any other opponent, but merely left the Dheronian stunned.

With the Commandos near her briefly pulling back, Maxima allowed herself a moment to rejoice, in her element – on the field of battle. Smiling to herself, she dared to hope again. '_Surely he MUST see, by now! He must have realized that I am superior to that..!_'

As she looked over her shoulder, Maxima felt her hope fade, her eyes taking in the sight of Superman and Power Girl, back-to-back as they faced a dozen irate Dheronians, all out for blood. Seeing two charge at them from her left, Power Girl let fly with twin light-bolts that connected with perfect accuracy, stunning and weakening the Commandos enough for Superman to slam one with a haymaker, and grab the second, tossing him into a third that had been closing from the right. Without missing so much as a beat – as though he knew her plan the moment she'd conceived it – Superman pivoted to the right, firing an eye-ray behind Power Girl, who fired her own eye-ray to strike the Commando closing from behind. With a dancer's grace, Power Girl spun under the claw-strike of one Dheronian charging from her left, leaping above Superman, forming a light-sphere in her hands and shattering it with the force of a flare, staggering the rest of their attackers, while Superman surged energy to his arms, and punched straight _down_, his fist striking the earth with enough force to ripple it, bouncing the Commandos into the air and across the street.

As much as she hated to admit it, Maxima couldn't help but admire their synchronicity.

With the Commandos dealt with, Power Girl started to calm, but something just over Superman's shoulder startled her – before she could shout a warning, an enraged Tyr'ell, his burns healed by the shadows, tackled into Superman, smashing them both through a nearby building, while his younger comrade – his son, Maxima hazarded – peppered Power Girl with laser-fire, keeping her pinned behind her light-barrier. Briefly dazed and feeling his reserves start to dip from his lost proximity to Alison's light, Superman staggered to his feet, while Tyr'ell closed on him, his eyes blazing. "How many millennia, Kryptonian?" he exploded, slamming him with a punch and knocking him into a wall, cratering it. But the Dheronian commander wasn't done, grabbing his head and smashing it into the stone again, harder. "Do you know how many _aeons_ my people wandered and _suffered_ in the dark that _your_ kind condemned us to?"

His eyes narrowed, Superman grabbed Tyr'ell's wrist, twisting and pivoting himself to reverse the Dheronian's grip, grabbing his shoulder to slam Tyr'ell against the stone. "It could have been _avoided_, Dheronian!" he roared back. "We wanted to _end_ the fighting, so we _tried_ reaching out to all of you!" He felt his eyes start to burn from barely-suppressed eye-rays. "We offered you _peace_, and you repaid us with _GENOCIDE!_"

"_There will be peace when your kind are all DEAD, Kryptonian SCUM!_"

With a last-ditch burst of strength, Tyr'ell pushed off the wall, knocking Superman back, before flying straight at him, smashing them both _back_ through the building, ending with Superman pinned on the ground, Tyr'ell's hands around his throat. "We will _never_ forgive what your kind did to us!" A cruel smirk crossed his face. "I can think of no better punishment than letting you die with the knowledge that the Shadow of Krypton will endure _long_ after its light has fade – _AARRRGGGHHH!_"

His taunt ended in a scream as Superman seared his face with an eye-ray, destabilizing him enough to toss him clear. With Tyr'ell stunned, Superman let loose a blast of gale-breath, blowing Tyr'ell's son back and giving Power Girl the breathing-room she needed to paste him with a light-blast, before darting to Superman's side. "Are you okay?"

Superman caught his breath. "My reserves are a bit low, but I'm otherwise fine."

Power Girl looked wary. "Don't you think it's time to call the cavalry?"

Looking around the battle-zone, Superman nodded grimly. "Now's as good a time as any." With that, he reached for his belt.

He had just tapped his belt-computer when Tyr'ell got back on his feet, his burns well-healed. "It matters not what tricks you employ, Kryptonian; you cannot hide behind your technology, nor can you draw on this system's cursed sun! You have nothing left to stay us!"

Superman smiled wryly. "You _sure_ about that, Tyr'ell?" he asked. "I've lived on Earth my entire life – long enough to make more than a few friends."

Tyr'ell laughed. "You cannot mean these pathetic Earthers!" he mocked. "What can _they_ do?"

Hearing an approaching whirring, Superman felt his smile grow. "See for yourself!"

The _Argo_ de-cloaked directly on top of them, racing by mere feet overhead, its wake knocking a surprised Tyr'ell to the ground as its teleporter wave shone out, depositing Cap, Iron Man, Black Widow, the X-Men, and the rest of the Justice League behind it. With its payload delivered, the Speeder's autopilot switched to its next programmed task: darting skyward, it fired a salvo of tri-pronged electrostatic bursts from its Polaron Disruptor, blowing out the shield-generators of a wing of Dheronian fighters, allowing it to swing around and finish them with a spread of Positron Cannon-shots, thus clearing enough of the sky for Thor to regain air superiority. Following Thor's lead, Iron Man ignited his repulsors – now tinted golden – and rocketed into the air, firing bursts from his hand-repulsors as he flew that felled several Dheronian Commandos with ease. His balance regained, a thoroughly-annoyed Thor darted at the nearest fighter, Mjolnir raised for a mortal blow, before he slammed his hammer down with enough force to ripple the air, sending the fighter careening down to the ground.

As Tyr'ell and his forces scattered to avoid the falling fighter, Cap raised his shield. "_Superman!_ _Hit the bull's-eye!_" he shouted, before pulling it back and letting it fly; as the shield ricocheted off a lamppost, arcing towards Tyr'ell's retreating Commandos, Superman surged half of his remaining energy to his eyes, unleashing a deadly crimson beam…which only grew and spread out as it impacted the vibranium disc, bathing six Commandos in red light, searing and weakening them as they fell. Stricken, Tyr'ell signalled for more reinforcements, but Cyclops spotted the 12-man platoon before they could start their charge, and switched his visor fully open, unleashing a full-powered optic surge, turning the platoon into target-practice for Black Widow and Spyke.

With their numbers rapidly falling from the _Argo's_ assault, the remaining Dheronian fighters made an attack-run on their enemy's position, guns blazing, forcing Phoenix to raise a fiery TK-bubble around herself and the others. '_Kitty, Kurt: Aerial Tag!_' she telepathically called. Nodding her understanding, Shadowcat raced towards Phoenix, who telekinetically grabbed her and launched her airborne, sending her straight at the lead fighter; holding her breath, Shadowcat scrunched her eyes shut and phased herself. Jean's aim was true: Shadowcat passed directly through the fighter – shorting out every last one of its systems in the process – before her arc changed course, sending her shooting through another, and then a third, before a sulphurous cloud poofed into existence ahead of her; as she felt Phoenix's telekinetic grasp fade, Shadowcat felt Nightcrawler's tridactyl grip replace it, as he _bamfed_ them both back to the ground.

By then, Tyr'ell's son had gotten his second wind, and was charging at Superman's position with six more Commandos. Drawing three arrows, Green Arrow took aim at them, pausing only to let Green Lantern enrobe them with emerald light before he let them fly; the arrows struck the ground directly ahead of them, unleashing triplicate bursts of green light that stunned the six Commandos, but the younger Dheronian had managed to raise his cloak and blunt the force of the light. Lowering his cloak, the young Commando raced at them, claw raised for a death-blow…before his weapon was snagged by a gummy strand, which yanked it away.

The Dheronian youth was momentarily struck speechless, but his anger returned as Spider-Man, hanging upside-down from a web-line, dropped down behind him. "Hey, nice hardware you guys got here!" he commented, trying on the gauntlet. "I mean, it's not up to Krypton's standards, but then, what is?" The youth fumed at that, darting at Spider-Man to tear him apart…which Spider-Man's spider-sense saw a mile away; partially taking his line back in, Spider-Man zipped upwards, letting the alien teenager pass directly under him, to crash into some trash-cans. "_Man!_ No wonder Krypton whupped you guys seventy-seven thousand ways from Sunday! You guys _suck_ at this!" Tyr'ell's son was beyond furious at that, but that rage gave way to alarm as the ground began to tremble beneath his feet; focusing, Avalanche summoned a tremor beneath the Dheronian, raising countless monumental pillars of jagged rock, at which point Gambit and Rogue – the latter having copied her boyfriend's abilities – raced through the man-made canyon, giving each pillar an explosive charge. Seeing the rocks start to glow, the alien youth made for the air…which sent him blundering right into the business-end of Hawkgirl's mace.

With his forces in disarray, Tyr'ell felt his composure start to slip, especially as he saw Superman stalk towards him, his narrowed eyes dotted with pinpricks of crimson, repeating his single accusation. "_Murderer._"

His rage swelling back, Tyr'ell answered his adversary. "It matters not what trickery you bring to make your stand here, Kryptonian!" he thundered. "We still possess the same weaponry we used to destroy Krypton! Either your kind surrender, or Earth shares its fate!"

Superman folded his arms, barely suppressing his fury. "You'd murder _another_ world?" he snapped. "One completely _innocent_ of our past conflicts?"

"They harboured _you_, Kryptonian scum! That makes them _far_ from innocent!" Tyr'ell shouted, as he switched on his communicator, hailing the mothership. "Arm the planet-killer and target Earth's core! Prepare to deploy Boom-Tube on my mark!" He waited, expecting to hear confirmation…

…but all he got was static.

Arching an eyebrow, Superman smirked. "Having technical difficulties, Tyr'ell?"

His control eroding even further, Tyr'ell hailed them again. "Bridge, this is your commander; respond immediately!"

This time, he got an answer. "_Commander, this is the bridge; our Boom-Tube targeting systems are completely offline! The planet-killer is armed, but we have no way to deploy it!_"

"_WHAT?_" Tyr'ell exploded. "_How..?_"

He got his answer before he could finish asking the question; with a flash of light, the entire infiltration-team appeared next to Superman, as a thoroughly exhausted Leap collapsed to the ground. Turning towards Superman, Sentrius saluted. "_Mission accomplished, Station-Commander. Counterattack is to commence in 5…4…3…2…1…_"

The very moment Sentrius finished her countdown, several energy-vortices opened up around the mothership, firing deadly neon-green laser beams at it, passing directly through the ship's shields and outer hull, piercing and destroying critical inner systems. As internal explosions rocked the mothership, sending it sagging in midair, the dome of shadows enfolding Metropolis began to shift, with numerous bright spots starting to form throughout it.

As Tyr'ell's expression turned blank, Superman spoke again. "You didn't think we'd come in here without a _plan_, did you?" he asked. "We _knew_ that if we came in here, you'd focus all your hate on _us_…and completely _ignore_ everything else, like the team we snuck onto your ship."

Tyr'ell felt his voice quiver, as he hailed the mothership once more. "Do we still have conventional weapons?"

"_Well…yes, Commander, but they'll be of no use against…_"

His rage returning full-force, Tyr'ell roared into his communicator. "_Bring full power to the main laser-arrays, and fire them down into this planet's crust! We'll deploy the planet-killer DIRECTLY!_"

The XO sounded horrified. "_B-But Commander, at this range..!_"

"_DO IT NOW!_"

There were no more objections, as the lower spikes of the wobbling mothership expanded, firing a colossal beam of crimson energy straight down, searing into the concrete, and then deep into the bedrock, turning both molten red in seconds. As the mothership's beam-weapon powered down, it moved aside, deploying a large, jagged-spherical device in its place.

Superman knew what it was instantly; his eyes wide with horror, he flew straight at the probe, but it was too late. The mothership launched the probe, firing it straight down into the molten ground, where it vanished beneath the surface, mere moments before Superman reached it. As Superman stared at the molten ground, Tyr'ell laughed. "How does it feel, Kryptonian?" he mocked. "How does it feel, knowing that your world is about to die, and there is _nothing_ you can do to stop it?"

Meeting Tyr'ell's gaze with a glare, Superman looked up towards the thinning shadow-dome, and then looked back with a wry grin. "I don't know, Tyr'ell!" he snapped. "Ask me when that actually _happens!_"

Her eyes wide, Power Girl realized what her boyfriend was about to do. "Kal, wait..!"

But Superman was already in motion, flying straight up, tapping his waning reserves for all he had, accelerating towards the nearest bright spot; as he reached it, he kept pushing through, feeling the air ahead of him resist, like chewing gum or taffy, before he broke through, flying out into the sunlight. His reserves replenished in mere nanoseconds, Superman turned and dove back into the perforated dome, surging his energy as he flew to rocket towards the molten pit at three _times_ his normal speed, his eye-rays lancing into the pit and re-heating it, turning it from red-black to blazing orange-red…just as he hit it.

_SPLOOOOSH!_

With a sickeningly dense splash, Superman dove into the magma, wincing as he felt its heat radiate around him, the ambient radiation nowhere near enough to sustain his powers like the sun did; he didn't have much time. Flashing to his X-ray vision, he spotted a tunnel-like disruption in the electromagnetic spectrum – the path of the probe. Firing his eye-rays ahead of him to excite the magma enough to push through it, Superman raced after the probe, his jaw clenched as he fought the heat with all he had, closing on the probe in about a minute; glowing silver in his vision, Superman could make out its inner workings through its protective shield, its individual modules powering up, ready to separate to project its force-field.

It was about to deploy.

Gritting his teeth, Superman closed the last distance between him and the probe, surging as much energy as he dared to his eyes, and firing the narrowest, most focused eye-ray he could at it; half of the beam's energy diffused into the magma, but the rest impacted the shield, taxing one spot far more than the rest, creating enough of a weakness for Superman to force through. With one punch, Superman broke through the shield, and leaned through the hole, his eyes scanning for the probe's shield-generator…and finding it. Quickly, Superman fired another eye-ray through the generator, flash-melting it effortlessly, before pulling back; with the generator gone, the probe's shield collapsed, at which point the heat of the magma devoured the probe, fusing its components together and sending it veering off-course, until it was gone completely.

Feeling a surge of triumph, Superman smiled…until a surge of agonizing heat replaced it; his time was almost up. Turning around, Superman flew back up, towards the surface, trying desperately to follow the path he'd made on his way down, searching for the entrance he'd used. Spotting a faint bright spot in the distance, Superman raced towards it, feeling the heat start to win out; it was going to be close..!

XXXXXXXX

As she watched Superman _dive into_ the magma pit created by that weapon, Chloe felt her heart all but _stop._ Beside her, Jimmy wasn't much better. "Holy…he's…he's gonna be okay, right?" he asked aloud. "Superman can survive that, can't he?"

'_At full power? Sure,_' Chloe thought. '_But after being sunlight-deprived?_' She had no answer to her own question.

By then, the Justice League was starting to regroup. Looking at the magma-pit, Aquaman grimaced. "_Tell_ me he didn't just..!"

Supergirl scrunched her eyes. "He did."

Krypto whined, while Wonder Woman looked stricken. "S-Surely he had enough sunlight to survive..!"

Power Girl was trembling. "I-I don't know!"

Recovering from the shock of seeing Superman dive after his weapon, Tyr'ell sneered. "So, the fool sealed his own fate. Very well." He switched on his communicator. "All forces, prepare to withdraw to the mothership…"

Power Girl's eyes blazed gold at that. "Sentrius?" she asked frostily. "I know I'm not your CO, but if I gave you an order to _fry_ these bastards, would you..?"

"_You need not give such an order, Citizen Ka-Lir,_" Sentrius replied just as coldly. With that, she gestured towards the mothership, her palm projecting a thin blue beam, which highlighted the titanic vessel. "_Feeding targeting data to StarLances and arming Point-to-Point Generator. Fire._"

Seconds later, the fraying shadow-dome was completely ripped apart by three deadly, comet-like plumes of plasma-energy that smashed into the crippled Dheronian mothership, utterly blasting it to pieces. The Dheronian commandos still on the ground never even had a chance to lament the loss of their capital ship as the sunlight streaked in, boiling them on the spot as they frantically tried to hide under their cloaks, but to little effect. Panicked, Tyr'ell backed into a shadowed corner, trying to hail his troops. "_Retreat!_" he shouted. "All forces, emergency Boom-out! Fall back to auxiliary rally-point!" At his command, the Dheronian soldiers all hit devices on their belts, vanishing one-by-one in booming bursts of light, while the remaining fighters vanished in larger bursts, until only Tyr'ell and his son remained.

Tyr'ell was about to trigger his own device, but Power Girl snagged him with a light-bola and dragged him into the sunlight, screaming. "You think you can just _walk away_ after this?" Power Girl screamed. "You _kill_ our people, you _try_ to destroy Earth, _and_ you send my _tausha_ to his _death_, and you think you can walk _AWAY?_"

Tyr'ell's son panicked from his shadowed refuge. "_FATHER!_" He tried to run towards Tyr'ell, but the last of the shadow-dome evaporated, sending sunbeams streaking ahead of him, trapping him.

Her eyes blazing with fury, Power Girl started to form a light-bolt, but Batman's iron hand on her wrist stopped her. "That's enough, Blaire."

Power Girl felt her eyes flare. "Speak for _yourself!_" she shrieked.

Batman never batted an eye, as he leaned close enough to her ear to keep his response quiet enough for only her. "I'm speaking for _Kent._"

The mention of her boyfriend stalled Alison's fury. Her expression sympathetic, Diana moved to rest her hand on her younger teammate's shoulder. "Kal would not want you to stain your hands with this monster's blood, child," she soothed.

Alison felt her eyes start to sting. "He…h-he can't be..!"

Before she could even shed a single tear, the ground began to shake, starting off faint, but growing louder and louder, until it localized right under the magma-pit…and Superman burst out of the magma, taking several deep breaths as he touched down, staggering slightly before he regained his balance. The others quickly hurried towards him. "Big Blue, you're – _WHOA!_" Spider-Man began, but stopped dead in his tracks from the force of the heat radiating from their teammate.

"No-one come closer!" Superman warned, catching his breath. "I just took a 5000-degree-plus bath, and I still haven't cooled down!" He looked to Iceman. "Bobby?"

"Way ahead of you, big guy; one fire-hose, coming up!" Aiming at Superman, Iceman fired a stream of frigid air at him; at first, the icy stream turned to clouds of steaming vapour about a foot away from Superman, but gradually, the cold-burst pushed the heat away, closer and closer, until it contacted Superman's skin, completely coating him in ice.

As Superman iced over, Iceman quickly stopped, allowing him to melt the ice with his eye-rays, breaking free with ease, and _relief._ "Thanks, Bobby; did I _ever_ need that."

Glancing at the cooling lava-pit, Giant Man arched an eyebrow. "We can imagine."

Cap turned to him. "You took care of that thing they fired?"

Superman nodded. "It's nothing but slag by now, Cap; Earth's out of danger."

Maxima beamed at him. "Darling, you were _amazing..!_" she began, but she stopped as Power Girl stormed past her, coming to a stop right in front of Superman.

Chloe gulped. "Uh, maybe we should give them some space…"

Cat smirked. "Not on your _life_, Sullivan; whatever she's about to say, it's going to be _good._"

Power Girl quickly proved her right. "Are you _completely_ insane?" she shouted, barely suppressing tears of fury. "Diving into _Earth's __**core**_ with only about _half_-power or _less?_"

Superman took a step back. "Aly, I had to destroy that probe before it reached the core…"

"And you _had_ to go in yourself?" Power Girl cried. "You couldn't have, I don't know, signalled the _battlestation_ you _command_ to lock on and 'port it out?"

"There wasn't time!" Superman countered. "That probe was _armed!_ Any later, and it would've separated, and we'd have _never_ gotten it out!"

Lifting his visor, Iron Man sighed, shaking his head. "And he's arguing with her; classic rookie mistake," he commented. "Word of advice, junior: keep your head down until she's out of steam."

Wonder Woman scoffed. "And you are the expert?"

"Hey, contrary to what you believe, Princess, I _have_ been on the receiving-end of the "Did-You-_Have_-To-Risk-Your-Life-Like-That" speech, before."

Seeing Alison's semi-teary eyes narrow, Superman raised his hands. "I _knew_ what I was doing, _taushi;_ I knew I had enough energy to survive the magma for several minutes – time enough to catch up to the probe! Once I felt my reserves going down, I turned back, and I made it out; it _worked,_ okay?"

Power Girl's anger started to die away, but her tears didn't. "_No_, it's _not_ okay!" she shouted. "These…_monsters_ almost took you _away_ from me..!"

His expression going stricken, Superman enfolded her in his arms. "They _didn't_, _Alia,_" he soothed. "We _all_ came through, like we always have."

Alison started to calm down. "I…I know," she sniffed. "Y-You know how seeing you do these kinds of things makes me flip out…"

Superman chuckled. "I'm the same way with _you,_" he teased. "But Earth is safe, and we're all okay; that's what's important."

Alison half-smiled. "Okay," she cooed, "but I still reserve the right to be ticked at you, for a little while."

Superman shrugged. "Fair enough." He was about to say more, but he never got the chance, as Alison – overcome with relief – sealed his lips with her own, looping her arms around his neck. Superman was mildly surprised at first, but quickly reciprocated, holding her close to deepen the kiss, letting her lift her feet from the ground as he easily supported her.

Cat's eyes almost popped out of her head. "Oh. My. _God._"

Jimmy was equally dumbfounded. "Whoa…are they..?"

Chloe played dumb. "Looks like it."

Smiling sheepishly, Jimmy started to raise his camera. "Should I..?"

Chloe fixed him with a glare. "Last I checked, Olsen, we weren't gossip-mongers," she warned. "And you keep your mouth _shut_ about this, Grant."

Cat pouted. "Are you _kidding_ me, Sullivan? The expose of the _century..?_"

"The Avengers, X-Men, and Justice League repelling _another_ alien invasion is "the expose of the century," Cat," Chloe retorted. "Provided we got some good shots, of course."

Grinning, Jimmy nodded. "Switched the flash off so no-one would notice!"

"Good." Chloe fixed Cat with a warning glare. "The rest we keep _quiet_ about, got it?"

Cat rolled her eyes. "_Fine_, Sullivan; I won't make any unfounded allegations. Happy?"

As Superman and Power Girl kissed, Wasp hid her smile behind her palm. "Hey, get a room, you two!"

Maxima, however, was far from jovial. "I fight _alongside_ him, and he _still_..?"

Moving next to her, Siryn interrupted her. "Maxima, isn't it?" she asked archly. "Take it from someone who's _been_ in your situation and eventually gained the sense to stop: _nothing_ you do will change that stubborn man's mind." Her eyes narrowed. "Besides, I suspect your time is better spent putting your _own_ household in order."

As Maxima went silent, Batman spoke up. "In case you've all forgotten, we still have a situation here." With that, he gestured towards Tyr'ell, still crouched in the shadows, inching away from the light.

A fierce scowl upon his face, Thor brandished his hammer. "Well, friends? Shall we _dispense_ with this murdering wretch?"

Releasing Power Girl from his embrace, Superman shook his head, his eyes narrowed. "No, Thor; we're not going to murder him."

Tyr'ell sneered. "_Coward!_" he spat. "You think to stay our hand in the future with mercy..?"

"This _isn't_ cowardice or mercy, Tyr'ell; this is pure _pragmatism,_" Superman snapped. "As much as your people hated ours, you _couldn't_ have destroyed Krypton alone. Someone put you _up_ to it…and you're going to _tell_ us who."

Tyr'ell's sneer vanished. "I-I will tell you _nothing!_"

With a low grumble, Hulk flexed his fists. "_Cape Man want Hulk to smash Shadow-Man until Shadow-Man talk?_" he asked. "_Hulk make Shadow-Man want to talk real quick!_"

"I fear that would do no good, Hulk," the Martian Manhunter commented. "Judging from what I sense, Tyr'ell and his people are in mortal fear of their benefactor; to them, he is a god…and thus, can dole out punishments far worse than death."

"Can you read his mind?" Supergirl asked.

J'onn concentrated…and shook his head. "All his other thoughts are readable, but when I try to probe for more about their benefactor, he begins blocking me," he remarked. "He's afraid to even _think_ his name."

Sentrius' optics narrowed. "_Then we bypass his blocks,_" she said, raising her arm as her fingers became segmented.

Quicksilver folded his arms. "And _how_ are you going to do that?"

"Sentrius can use her nanites to yank info right out of somebody's brain," Aquaman said, looking mildly nauseous. "Frankly, it's spooky as hell."

Batman's glower intensified. "We'd better not make this a habit."

"Don't worry," Superman agreed. "Barring extraordinary circumstances – like needing intel on someone capable of destroying a planet like Krypton – Sentrius keeps her nanites to herself." Looking to the A.I.-avatar, he nodded. "Do it."

As Sentrius took aim, Tyr'ell snarled. "I will _die_ before I betray my god..!"

"_Your cooperation is not expected,_" Sentrius replied. "_Nor is it required._" With that, she fired her finger-darts directly into Tyr'ell's neck.

As the microscopic robots began travelling up to Tyr'ell's brain, the frantic Dheronian commander looked to the side. "Tyr'uk! My son!" he cried. "_Live for him!_"

The Dheronian youth – Tyr'uk – looked bewildered. "F-Father?"

Pure desperation wrote itself across Tyr'ell's face, as he drew a blaster. "_DIE for HIM!_" Before anyone could react, Tyr'ell opened fire, blasting Superman and driving him back, as the Dheronian commander got to his feet…and threw himself _into_ the sunlight, ripping off his cloak and armour, letting out involuntary screams of agony as the light began to boil him alive.

Recovering in seconds, Superman looked horrified at what Tyr'ell had done. "Tyr'ell, you _fool!_" he shouted, darting to the Dheronian's side and dragging him back into the dark…but it was already too late; Tyr'ell's body, charred to a crisp, was deathly still, his pale eyes glassy and empty.

He was gone.

Everyone was silent for several seconds. "Hera, be _merciful,_" Diana whispered. "Who or what could have left such a compulsion on him..?"

"_MURDERERS!_"

Tyr'uk's accusation drew everyone's attention towards the Dheronian youth, still crouched in the shadows, tears of grief leaking from his eyes. "_You KILLED him! You all KILLED him!_"

"Still your fool tongue, whelp!" Thor boomed. "Your sire took his _own_ life!"

But Tyr'uk was beyond reason, now. "We'll see you _DEAD_ for this, Kryptonian scum!" he screamed. "We'll see this whole _planet_ razed to _NOTHING!_" With that, he tapped his Boom-Tube, generating a glowing portal and dashing through it as it shut behind him.

With the last invader gone, Metropolis was quiet. "Well, that was fun," Flash remarked.

Cap turned a concerned glance towards Superman and Supergirl. "You okay?"

Supergirl looked like she'd swallowed ten lemons. "We just found out our people were _murdered_ by some of our oldest enemies, Captain. How do you _think_ we are?"

Superman looked to Sentrius. "Did you get _anything_ from Tyr'ell?"

Sentrius shook her head, her optics turning back to green. "_Nothing presently usable, Commander: the few bits of data I received were severely corrupted. If any useful intel is present, I will require time to decode it._" Her optics narrowed as she glanced to Maxima. "_There is one more pressing matter remaining, however._"

Seeing a series of annoyed gazes turn towards her, Maxima wilted, fixing one forlorn glance on Superman. "You're certain I cannot convince you?"

Superman's stare was flat. "_Very_ certain," he deadpanned.

Maxima sighed. "Very well." Her hands moved to her belt, reaching for her Boom-Tube…

"_Hold_ it!" Superman bellowed, startling Maxima. "_You_ can go, Maxima, but that gizmo stays _here._"

Maxima bristled. "How am I to return to my ship?"

"_We'll_ give you a lift," Green Lantern said. "_After_ we get everything straightened out with Councillor Wazzo _and_ the Guardians."

Maxima pouted, but she handed the Tube to Green Lantern. "Very well."

Tony coughed. "You know, the guys at S.H.I.E.L.D. R&D – and StarkTech – would probably like to take a look at that thing," he began, but the dozen dirty-looks he got made him re-think that. "Then again, Fury'll probably be satisfied with Crispy, here."

"We figured," Green Arrow said. "So, we done here?"

Cap nodded. "We'll be in touch."

"Same here," Superman replied, before turning to the rest of his teammates. "Let's go home, guys."

Smiling faintly, Chloe turned to her two coworkers. "I think they've got the right idea," she said. "What say we get out of here?"

"Good idea!" Jimmy agreed. "It's a shame Mr. Kent missed all this, though."

Chloe raised a hand to her mouth to hide her smile. "Oh, don't worry, Jimmy; I'm sure he caught the highlights."

XXXXXXXX

_Deep space_

Far beyond the Sol System, a handful of jagged-claw-shaped ships – Dheronian troop-transports – glided through the dark, heading for their rendezvous-point. Aboard the lead ship, in the blessed darkness of his father's old quarters, Tyr'uk sat alone, deep in thought.

Today's campaign had been an utter disaster. Not only had they failed to carry out their god's commandment – to annihilate their hated enemy completely – they had lost far too many of the precious ships and resources their god had given. Even to this day, the Dheronian race was confined to a handful of cobbled-together transports, wandering from rock to rock; only their god's gift of several dozen warships – two motherships among them – had given them a fighting chance, a means to evade and outwit Krypton's technological might…

…and now they had lost one mothership, and many good soldiers with it, his father among them, all because they had underestimated the conniving mind of the last scion of the wretched House of El..!

Suddenly, the main view-screen flared to life, bathing the chamber in crimson light, stinging Tyr'uk's eyes. "I thought I said I was not to be disturbed!" Tyr'uk snapped…but his fury gave way to horror at the sight of that titanic shadow blotting out the light, his silhouette only dotted by two pinpricks of hellish luminance narrowed in annoyance. "M-My Lord!" Tyr'uk cried, prostrating himself. "Great One, had I known..!"

"_**You attempted to attack Earth,**_" the Great Lord of Shadow rumbled. "_**Explain this.**_"

Tyr'uk flinched. It was too late; their failure was exposed. "G-Great One, w-we were merely following your command, to destroy our enemy!" he explained. "W-We only recently learned that…that a handful of Kryptonians survived…"

"_**I am aware of this.**_"

Tyr'uk paused. "You…you _knew_, Great One?"

A low, sinister chuckle filled the chamber. "_**It was by my design that those survivors reached Earth, son of Dheron,**_" he said. "_**All is as I have planned.**_"

Tyr'uk couldn't speak for several seconds. "Then…then what of Krypton's survivors?"

"_**For now, you will leave them to me.**_"

Tyr'uk choked at that. After what the wretch of El had done to his father, the thought of leaving him alive..!

The Shadow Lord's eyes narrowed, his infernal light flickering. "_**You question me?**_"

Fear re-took Tyr'uk. "N-Never, Great One!"

"_**Good.**_" The Shadow Lord folded his arms. "_**In your father's stead, you will lead your people; have them remain silent, in the dark. When the time comes, you will have your revenge.**_"

Tyr'uk smiled. "I obey, Great One!" The Shadow Lord made no answer; he simply ended the transmission, bathing the room in darkness, once more. Reinvigorated by their god's latest dictum, Tyr'uk left his chamber, heading to the bridge, reaching it and entering without hesitation. "I have news from our god!" he declared, instantly gaining everyone's attention. "In my father's place, I am to command our people!" His tone turned menacing. "Let anyone who challenges this speak _now._"

No-one spoke.

Tyr'uk smirked. "Be of good cheer, my brothers; we still hold the Great One's favour!" he exclaimed. "All goes according to his plan! Our defeat today was by his design, that we might have victory tomorrow!"

The entire bridge crew's mood lifted, as one officer spoke up. "What are our orders, Commander?"

Tyr'uk smiled back. "We will wait, and regain our strength until the Shadow Lord gives his command; by his promise, we shall see Krypton wiped away _FOREVER!_"

A cheer went up from the entire bridge. "_We LIVE for Darkseid!_"

His smile going dark, Tyr'uk answered his crew's salute. "We _die_ for Darkseid."

XXXXXXXX

_Xavier Institute, Earth_

After returning to the Institute and changing back into his street-clothes, Pietro found himself wandering the halls, too lost in his own thoughts to notice how slow he was going.

Part of him knew he should be packing up and heading out to save his father, that he shouldn't be playing by Xavier and Super-Dork's rules…

…but they'd saved the entire planet, today, for the umpteenth time, if he was honest with himself. As unlikely and near-impossible as it would have been to think about, they'd done it. They were his best bet for saving his father.

But how could he work with the one who'd left him..?

"Are you satisfied now, Aly? I'm _fine!_"

That voice knocked Pietro out of his thoughts enough to realize he'd wandered to the infirmary; peeking in, he was surprised to find a plain-clothes Superman – his uniform exchanged for black jeans and a light blue t-shirt – sitting on the medical cot while Beast looked him over, with Alison, in slim blue jeans and a light pink tank-top, looking on, her arms folded, a worried expression on her face. Alison's frown deepened. "Are you _sure_, Dr. McCoy? You're not seeing _any_ damage from his _latest_ bonehead maneuver?"

Kal sighed. "And here I thought my word actually counted for something."

Hank chuckled. "Well, from what I can tell – given the precious little we know about Kryptonian physiology – he's perfectly fine!" he reported. "It appears his reserves are back up to normal, with no sign of any lasting trauma; in short, he's in perfect health!"

"Thank you!" Kal declared. "See, Aly? I'm okay!"

Alison's lower lip trembled as she moved to hug him. "Well, forgive me for being worried when my boyfriend pulls _another_ death-defying stunt!"

Pietro wanted to throw up. "If you two start making out, I _swear_ I'm gonna heave."

Alison visbly twitched as she turned around, while Kal just looked cross. "You know, Maximoff," Alison warned, "last I checked, voyeurism was illegal."

"So sue me," Pietro said with a shrug. "So why're you so tweaked over Super-Dork, anyway? Last _I_ checked, it took Kryptonite to take him out."

Kal's chuckle was empty. "If only that were true."

Pietro paused. "Come again?"

"That shadow-dome wasn't just to trap us inside, Pietro; it was to keep the sunlight _out,_" Alison said. "His batteries were over half-drained when he took that little swan-dive into the core."

Pietro did a double-take. "So…you were almost less-than-bulletproof when you did that? You could've gotten fried for _real_, and the first thing that pops into your head was "Hey, I'd better dive into lava to catch that thing"?"

"Actually, it was more like "I don't have time to signal Sentrius, so I'd better dive into the lava to catch it,"" Kal corrected.

Pietro was incredulous. "When your mom put you in the spaceship that sent you here…did she drop you on your _head?_"

Alison huffed. "_Thank_ you!"

"Aly," Kal soothed. "If I hadn't, the entire planet could've gone up."

Pietro's bitterness crept back in. "Oh, so when it's the whole planet, you're all in, but when it's my dad, you drop the ball?"

Alison's expression turned furious. "Okay, that _does_ it..!"

Kal's hand on her elbow stopped her. "Pietro, if I could have saved your father, I _would_ have," he said. "Yes, I can admit I messed up trying to save him, but none of us are giving up on him."

Pietro felt his eyes burn. "_How_ is sitting around on your duff doing _anything_ to…"

"Sentrius is analyzing the Sphinx's force-field daily, trying to match its phase-shift pattern," Kal interrupted. "She and the Fortress are studying that Boom-Tube, both to try and identify its maker and to see if we can adapt it to 'port _past_ that barrier, like the Dheronians did with their own shadow-field. Plus, we know what readings Apocalypse's power-systems give off; if he moves again, we'll be on his psychotic ass in a _minute._"

Pietro's anger started to die down. "Oh," was all he could say at first. "And you couldn't have just _said_ that?"

"When did you give him the _chance?_" Alison snapped.

Pietro gulped. "Uh…"

Alison rolled her eyes. "Thought so."

"_Alia,_" Kal said, before looking back to Pietro. "So, Pietro, now that you know the score, you still want to leave?"

Pietro paused, his mind racing, trying to decide. "Um…"

A beeping from Kal's belt interrupted them, prompting Kal to check his communicator. "Chloe?" He looked mildly nervous. "Now's not the best…huh? Sorry for what?" He paused. "You didn't check if Cat's cell-phone had a camera? What does that have to do with..?"

The PA suddenly switched on, as Kitty's voice came through. "_Uh…Kal? Aly? You'd both better come to the living-room; you'll need to see this._"

Quickly, Kal finished his call. "We're gonna have to get back to you, Chloe; see you soon."

Pietro arched an eyebrow. "What was _that_ about?"

"I have no idea," Kal answered. "I guess we'd better go see what's up." With that, he, Alison, and Beast headed out of the infirmary, prompting Pietro to follow.

By the time they reached the living room, all the rest of the Institute was there, in front of the TV, which was showing a report on the Metropolis invasion. "_…and today, the grand dame of the news business, the Daily Planet, came racing out of the gate with exclusive coverage of today's attack on Metropolis, which was foiled by a joint effort between the Justice League, the X-Men, and the Avengers,_" the anchorman reported, "_but that's not the only thing that has everyone's attention! The Planet's own Cat Grant has this story!_"

The image changed, showing a blonde lady with a knowing smile. "_Well, Ken, today's save by Superman and the League seems to have folks cheering for the Man of Tomorrow again, but at the same time, the wails of Earth's single ladies – and more than a few guys – are going up, thanks to what I would like to call "The Kiss Heard 'Round the World"!_"

As the image now showed a cell-photo of Superman and Power Girl lost in a passionate embrace, Alison went pale. "W-What the..?"

Kal scrunched his eyes. "She never checked Cat's _cell-phone…_" he realized aloud.

Scott nodded. "Sorry, guys, but it looks like the cat's out of the bag regarding you two."

Jean grimaced. "Literally, it seems."

Hisako managed a faint smile as she glanced to Kal and Alison. "Y-You two are really together?" she asked. "C-Congratulations!"

Alison sighed. "Thanks, Hisako."

Noticing Rudy's scowl, Lila chuckled. "Told ya."

"Yeah, whatever," Rudy grumbled. "I still say we should've been up there, too."

Logan snorted. "Next time, Copycat."

Cat kept going. "_Well, viewers, while this puts to rest any rumors about whether or not the Man of Steel is as red-blooded as his cape, it does raise the question: is the former Princess of Pop cheating on her ever-absent "Kal"?_"

Alison saw red. "_WHAT?_"

Anita's hand on her shoulder stilled her. "Easy, Blaire," she said. "If you murder her _now_, everyone will suspect you; the best course of action is to wait a month and _then_ let her have an accident."

But Cat wasn't done. "_Right now, we have one of Alison Blaire's friends, and former wardrobe manager, on the line to get his take!_" she said, before pressing a button. "_Mr. Febrise, what do you think? Are Alison and her beau Kal over?_" She chuckled. "_Because if I got cheated on like…_"

"_Now you ZIP it, missy!_" an effeminate male voice snapped. "_Our sweet little Aly isn't the type to cheat, and I won't have you defaming her!_"

Jubilee giggled. "Wow; bet she wasn't expecting that!"

Clearly frazzled, Cat tried to recover. "_B-But…we all SAW the photo! What other explanation is there?_"

Febrise sounded thoughtful. "_Hmm…sad to say, I was a bit thrown by that at first,_" he admitted, "_but after I looked at it – and stopped swooning, of course – I realized that I'd seen that gorgeous Kryptonian mug before: about two years ago, when sweet Aly and her then-mysterious hunk named Kal dropped by to pick up a Christmas present for her younger cousin!_"

Cat started to smile, as she realized she'd stumbled on an even _bigger_ scoop than she realized. "_Are you saying..?_"

Alison was mortified. "Febrise, _don't..!_"

No dice. "_I most certainly am, Miss Grant: Alison isn't cheating on Kal with Superman! Superman IS Kal! Those two have been dating right under EVERYONE'S nose for the past two years!_"

Alison buried her face in her hands. "Febrise, you _idiot…_"

Lance groaned. "Well, that's it: you two are busted."

Cat was intrigued. "_So, what do you think the story is?_" she asked. "_I think we all know that celeb-romances last about as long as store-bought sandwiches, so what is it? Money? Publicity?_"

Febrise laughed. "_Try doing a little INVESTIGATING, honey!_" he retorted. "_With her CDs flying off the shelves, Aly doesn't need anyone financially, and her Super-beau ordered all proceeds from use of his image sent to charity, which tells you his opinion on money! As for fame, Alison's still incredibly private, and Superman spent the first 2 years of his job ducking cameras!_" He chuckled. "_That just leaves one thing._"

Cat's face went flat. "_You're not serious._"

"_Afraid so, sweetie; those two may be tough as nails, but Cupid's arrow has hit 'em both, and hard! We're looking at the next Reed and Susan Richards…albeit with better fashion-sense; no offence to the good doctors, but…blue spandex with a '4'? Tacky!_"

With her expose now considerably less than scandalous, Cat looked like she'd swallowed a gym-sock. "_Well…thank you for that, Mr. Febrise. Back to you, Ken._"

As the image switched back to the original anchorman, Kal sighed. "Shut it off, guys."

Distraught, Alison buried her face in her boyfriend's chest, letting out a faint scream of frustration. "Oh, _God_, this is a nightmare!" she cried. "I'm not sure who I'm madder at: that bitch or Febrise!"

Tinya half-smiled. "Hey, Febrise was just trying to defend you guys, right?" she asked. "And it was nice that he likened you two to Reed and Sue…"

"Hate to say it, Spooky, but that wasn't necessarily a help," Logan interjected. "A quick frencher is one thing, but now the whole damn world knows they're together."

Fred looked puzzled. "Is that bad?"

"If you're a bad guy looking for a quick way to get to Big Blue, it's great!" Ray muttered. "Somebody needs to Brown-Bag-Surprise that bitch's doorstop."

At Alison's frown, Kal held her close. "It'll be okay, _taushi,_" he soothed. "We'll get through this."

Alison looked stricken. "But now we're both at the center of a media circus!"

Kal chuckled. "You mean we _weren't_ before?"

Alison half-smiled. "You know what I mean!"

Pietro groaned. "Is every day around here such a freakin' soap-opera?"

Iceman shrugged. "More or less," he said, "but, isn't _every_ family?"

Now Pietro _really_ wanted to hurl. "You'd _better_ be kidding, Drake."

Iceman chuckled. "Hey, it works."

Kal smiled. "So what do you say, Pietro? You in?"

Despite his nausea, Pietro had to admit – as much as he hated to – that his chances flying solo were pretty slim. With a calm shrug, he replied, "Yeah, I guess; you X-Geeks sure need _something._"

Wanda rolled her eyes. "Oh, yeah; we're _so_ grateful."

Logan, however, had a positively evil grin. "Good to hear, Twinkle-Toes," he said. "Just make sure you're _on-time_ for Danger Room; next session's at 6 AM, tomorrow."

Pietro's groan echoed those of the other students. '_Aw, man, what'd I get myself into?_'

XXXXXXXX

_Gluurplox's Eat-n'-Sleep, Dro'Den System_

"My Lady, w-we shouldn't _be_ here!"

After her return to her ship, followed by a thorough dressing-down by an irate Councillor Wazzo and a transmission from those over-stuffed Oan immortals, a tired, apathetic Maxima had ordered a course-change that took them through the Dro'Den System…and giving her a much-needed chance to drown her sorrows. From her seat at the bar, Maxima downed another hearty swig of the local specialty – polishing off her _third_ in an hour – before turning back to her very distressed handmaiden. "Will you _calm_ yourself, Vira? There's practically _no-one_ here."

Looking around the semi-seedy bar and motel did little to soothe Vira's nerves. "Regardless, Ladyship, an…establishment as this is no place for one of your status, especially not when there are more pressing..!"

Maxima glared at her. "Will you _cease?_" she snapped. "I already _told_ you that I would deal with my coronation, those treacherous nobles _and_ Almerac's troubles! Is that not enough for you?" She sighed. "I merely _expected_ to have someone by my side while doing so; if I have to numb my disappointments beforehand, I should think that a small price to…"

_BOOOOOM!_

A sudden explosion from outside startled Maxima – and sent Vira into a screaming fit – as a tall, strongly-built, pale, red-eyed man, with wild black hair and clad in leather biker-gear, with a scrawny, rat-like humanoid over his shoulder, leapt through the door, evading a hailstorm of laser-fire as he did. "_Fraggin' bounty-jumpers!_ Try an' swipe _my_ payday, will they?" the man roared; drawing a plasma-rifle, he darted to a window, and fired several shots through it. As his attackers returned fire through the window, the man moved to the door, pulled a grenade, yanked its pin, and tossed it out the door, bracing himself behind the wall as it detonated. Once the shockwave had died down, the man peered back out…and grinned. "_FRAG YEAH!_ The Main Man strikes again, baby!"

Vira was somewhere between terrified and scandalized. "L-Ladyship, we should withdraw!"

Maxima was transfixed. "You can leave whenever you like, Vira," she murmured, her eyes drinking in the newcomer's physique, her mind taking in his fighting-style and manner: rough, unrelenting, straight-to-the-point…

…like _her._

As the newcomer strolled to the bar, the owner, Gluurplox – a portly, three-eyed humanoid – looked far from impressed. "Dammit, Lobo, _how_ many times do I have to ask you _not to shoot up my bar?_"

The man – Lobo – grinned, unashamed. "Quit yer fraggin' bellyachin', 'Plox; the bounty this little feeb here'll bring in oughtta cover the damage _and_ pay my fraggin' tab fer a _year!_"

Gluurplox grumbled. "Yeah, like I've never heard _that_ before!" he snapped. "Let me guess: the usual?"

"Bingo, 'Plox!" Lobo replied, before glancing down the bar…and giving a lecherous grin as he spotted Maxima. "Plus another round fer _that_ hot little red number."

Vira was mortified. ""Hot little"…_L-Ladyship..!_"

Ignoring her handmaiden, Maxima approached the bounty-hunter. "You think one measly drink earns you my favour?"

Lobo shrugged. "Figured it couldn't hurt."

Maxima smirked. "I am the future sovereign of Almerac; only one who can best me in combat may bed me."

Lobo's lusty grin grew. "So we gotta break a sweat before breakin' a bed, huh?" he quipped. "The Main Man is intrigued."

Maxima felt her face flush. "I was taught by the greatest warriors in the Giriod System, bounty-hunter. I am not so easily conquered."

"Hey, never said I didn't like a challenge!" Lobo answered. "Personally, I wasn't big on schoolin', but on my _last_ job, I punched out the World-Chomper, helped the Last Fanboy of Krypton dig his big-ass battlestation out of mothballs, _and_ put the boot to a double-crossin' Kree. Think you can top _that_, missy?"

Maxima's smile grew to match Lobo's. "I suppose we'll see."

"Damn straight, sweet-thing – 'Plox's happy-hour's comin' up."

Maxima arched an eyebrow. "You come here often, then?"

"Eh. Enough that 'Plox needs to up his insurance premiums."

Gluurplox snorted. "As if _any_ company would insure a business _you_ frequent, Lobo!"

Lobo fixed him with a half-glare. "Not now, 'Plox; the Main Man is _workin'_ here," he grumbled under his breath. Glancing back to Maxima, he grinned. "I figure we got about five minutes to happy hour, sweet thing; you in?"

For certain, Lobo was no noble son of Krypton, but after being rejected by one, Maxima felt – if only for the moment – she could make do. "Tell me more…"

XXXXXXXX

_Author's Note: Hey, everyone! I realize that this update took a little longer than I planned; sorry about that!_

_ That brings me to another point: between writing four fanfics at once and managing a 5-course semester, including a thesis-project, I have SERIOUSLY overestimated my ability to make progress on any one fic. It is possible for me to keep posting, but if I continue as planned – namely, working on four fics at once – it's going to make updates slow. If, however, I reduce the fics I work on to one or two, I may be able to make more headway; I would still work on Book 4, of course, but I'd only work on my other story saga, Hanging Ten, since the next instalment in that series is considerably shorter. Smallville Chronicles and Crusade would be tabled until that was finished, and then I would work on Smallville Chronicles until THAT was done, and then focus on Crusade, as well as Book 4._

_ Therefore, my readers, I pose this question: Which would you prefer; that I continue work on all four stories, and provide less regular updates, or restrict my efforts to one or two, to provide a more regular schedule? Either is fine with me, so I will leave things to all of you._

_ Coming Soon:_

_ In the middle of a salvage-mission-turned-search-and-rescue, our heroes come face-to-face with an old enemy…_

_ …who have only gotten stronger and more dangerous in the meantime._

_ With the Justice League distracted, another threat moves to endanger Earth…_

_ …forcing four young heroes to step up._

_ Be there, when this new pack finds "Aliens in the Backyard"…_


	3. Aliens in the Backyard

CHAPTER THREE: ALIENS IN THE BACKYARD

_Queens, New York City, New York, September 19, 2009_

As the mid-afternoon sun began to wane over Queens, the everyday bustle of New York began to rapidly pick up, amplifying the din of the city a thousandfold. Most citizens were put-off by the noise…but for two in particular, the added cloak of sound worked just fine.

"What's the matter, Smallville? Runnin' out of steam?"

At his end of the outdoor basketball court, a few feet from his basket, Clark, in a light-blue sleeveless t-shirt and navy sweat-pants, hustled to intercept his opponent. "_Boy_, are you lucky I can't use superspeed out here, Stone!" he quipped.

Grinning back, Victor "Cyborg" Stone, in black shorts and a grey sleeveless hoodie, simply bounced the ball once with his cybernetic arm. "Whatever you need to tell yourself, Kent!" With that, he dribbled to Clark's left, prompting Clark to move to block, only to spin around to the right and dart to the basket, leaping up to dunk. "_Booyah!_" he cheered. "4-2, CK!"

Taking the ball as it dropped through the net, Clark started dribbling as Victor moved back to his defensive zone. "Huh; I don't remember having this much trouble playing, before."

Victor snorted. "Uh, that's 'cause you're used to playing against Lex!" he replied…but he blanched the moment the words left his mouth. "Aw, dang, Clark, I didn't mean to…"

"We can talk later, Stone!" Clark declared, moving up to Vic's zone. "Right now, I'm going for game!" Crouching low, Clark volleyed for a 3-point shot, forcing Victor to leap to block…but when the shot never came, Victor realized his mistake: instead of shooting, Clark had put extra spin on the ball so that it arced back to him instead, forcing Victor to waste a block, and giving Clark the opening he needed to race to the net for a reverse-dunk. Hanging from the net momentarily, Clark grinned. "Tie-game, Vic!"

Vic arched an eyebrow. "Dang, man; you're gettin' sneaky."

Clark dropped down. "Comes from hanging with Batman on a regular basis."

Vic shrugged. "There's that," he agreed. "Love to know how he pulls that vanishing-act."

"You and me both."

Victor looked regretful. "Still, man, sorry I mentioned Lex, just then; bad timing."

"It's okay, Vic," Clark answered. "I plan to stop by to see him, later, today; I was going to ask you, Arthur, Wally, and Oliver to come, but Lana didn't think that was a great idea…"

"…because we might overload him," Victor finished. "I get it, man; once Lex starts getting his memory back, _then_ we can start dropping by." He chuckled. "You knew him longest, so if anybody can jump-start that brain of his, it'd be you."

Clark smiled. "Thanks."

Vic's grin turned teasing. "So, you and Dorky are officially news, huh?"

Clark half-chuckled. "Shut up."

"Hey, I'm not razzin' you about it, Smallville; after everybody givin' you grief about Crazy Z, it's about time you got some good press, again!"

"Thanks, Vic, but I'd prefer to think that said press was based on our dealing with an invasion rather than who I'm dating," Clark replied. "Speaking of which, our invitation to the League is still open…"

"Appreciate it, man, but I'm okay right here on the ground," Victor answered. "I'm happy just helping folks out on the street-level, for now."

Clark nodded. "Yeah, I thought I saw you around a few reconstruction-sites we helped out at," he remarked. "Are you still a private-eye, too?"

"That, and I've been helping out at a local youth-center," Victor replied. "I met up with the folks running it on one of my cases, and it just went from there."

"Sounds good," Clark replied. Spotting a group of kids approaching, led by a young woman, he gulped. "Uh, Vic? Maybe we should table the shop-talk for now."

Looking over his shoulder, Victor grinned. "Nah, no worries, CK! It's cool!" Turning around, he called out, "Fox! Hey, Foxy, over here!"

Responding to his call, the young woman – around a year younger than Clark, tall, lean, and with long, dark-honey-coloured hair and green eyes, in slim, slightly tattered jeans, a white tank-top and a dark jacket – smiled and walked over, her half-dozen charges following her. "Stone! _How_ many times have I asked you not to call me that?"

Vic laughed. "Aw, you know you like it, Macks," he teased. "Anyway, you know that old pal of mine I mentioned?" He gestured to Clark. "Fox, Clark Kent, the ringleader of us six knuckleheads back in Smallville; CK, this is Mackenzie Fox – she's one of the folks running that youth-center I told you about."

Meeting Clark's gaze, Mackenzie smiled gently. "It's…it's nice to meet you, Clark."

Clark smiled back. "Likewise," he replied. "Is your center nearby?"

Mackenzie nodded. "We're just a few blocks from here," she said, pointing down the street. "It's been tough, but it's worth it."

Clark felt a twinge of sadness at that, as he wondered how many other problems went unnoticed while he and the League were busy elsewhere. "Tough neighbourhood?"

"There are worse ones; there've been some issues with drugs and gangs," Mackenzie admitted, "but the real kicker is that most of the kids we take in…have problems that most _other_ kids don't have."

It was only then that Clark got a good look at the kids Mackenzie had brought. One normal-looking little boy had fished out a basketball, while another boy – with fish-like fins on his head – tried to block him as he dribbled down the court. On the sidelines, a red-skinned little girl and a little boy with a third eye in his forehead cheered their friends on. "They're mutants?" Clark asked.

"That, or they got abilities some other way," Victor said. "We take in anyone who needs help, but we seem to be the only one in Queens that accepts kids like them."

Clark's face fell. "But…I thought the Xavier Institute…"

"…handles the powerful mutants," Mackenzie finished for him. "Somebody explained to me once how metas – meta-humans – get classified by how powerful or destructive their abilities are: there's Gamma, the lowest level, then Beta, Alpha, and then Omega, the _really_ scary kind." She smiled faintly. "I know Professor X means well, but he must've set up his detection-system to catch Betas and Alphas; Gammas don't really show up on his radar that much. Still, it kinda works out well for us; we wouldn't be able to really handle too many Alphas, or even Betas…and God help us if we ever came across an Omega with an attitude."

"No kidding," Victor agreed. "You, Luke, and Jessie have your hands full as it is!"

Clark was amazed. "Wow." He was about to ask Mackenzie how she'd and her co-workers had started the center, but the beeping of his communicator under his clothes stopped him: a Beacon-alert.

Victor noticed it, too. "Work paging you?" he covered.

"Yeah; last-minute deadline," Clark replied. "I've gotta go." He turned to leave, but tossed a friendly smile over his shoulder at Mackenzie. "It was nice meeting you!"

Mackenzie smiled back. "You, too!" With that, Clark hurried off.

The nearest empty alley was mercifully within the first block, allowing Clark to easily shed and stash his street-clothes out of sight, revealing his uniform underneath. Quickly taking to the sky, Superman returned the hail. "Superman here, Watchtower. What's the situation?"

Sentrius' computerized calm answered him. "_Commander El, my sensors detected two step-through resonances in high proximity to Earth's orbit, several minutes ago._"

Superman grimaced. '_Oh, not again!_' "Have you warned them off?"

"_Affirmative, Commander. One has stood down, but the other was critically damaged in a firefight; it is currently in catastrophic re-entry heading towards Gotham City. Estimated time to impact is two minutes. Green Lantern and Wonder Woman are already en route._"

"Understood, Sentrius; send all additional information to my communicator!" Superman replied. "Superman out!" Ending the transmission, he quickly clipped his communicator back to his belt, before accelerating hard, racing up through the clouds, to catch the wayward ship before it crashed into New York.

XXXXXXXX

_Earth orbit, a few minutes earlier_

High above the luminous blue of the planet Earth, the black of space was briefly lit up by the flash of step-through, as a sleek, serpentine vessel emerged into normal space. Mere moments later, a second spatial resonance flared, depositing another ship – a curved, boomerang-like vessel – in hot pursuit.

"Admiral, sir! We have the Gordanian vessel in torpedo-range! Request permission to open fire!"

Standing aboard the bridge of the training-vessel-turned-pursuit-craft, glancing around the crew of talented – yet far too green – naval cadets, Admiral Lord Aelfyre Whitemane of the Kymellian Commonwealth, a tall, white-coated equine humanoid of middle years, in his dress uniform of a silver-black bodysuit, looked grim. "Hold steady, Cadet; for now, hail them and order them to heave-to! In the meantime, I need a damage-report and a coordinate-check; following that ship through a _blind_ step-through jump likely hit us as hard as it hit them! If we've landed in hostile territory, we'll need to be ready!"

To his trainees' credit, the response came fast. "No major systems reporting in damaged, Admiral! We took a few minor dings, but nothing we need worry about!" one cadet responded. "Judging from their trajectory, I'd say the Gordies took the worst of it; if they don't pull out, they'll fry!"

The sensors-officer quickly followed suit. "Admiral, we have a position; we landed in the Sol System – specifically, right above Earth!"

Aelfyre breathed a sigh of relief as he heard that. With the revelation of a Kryptonian survivor – as well as the fact that said survivor had moved Krypton's legendary Sentrius Battlestation here – that meant they were in potentially friendly space…provided they had a chance to identify themselves.

The comms officer spoke up. "Admiral, we're being hailed; I'm putting it through, now!"

A computerized female voice replaced the cadet's. "_Attention unidentified vessels; this is Battlestation Sentrius. You are encroaching upon Earth sovereign space. Identify yourselves and heave-to, or you will be fired upon._"

Aelfyre thought fast. "Are we close enough to the Gordanian ship to get a life-signs scan?"

"I believe so, Admiral; just give me one…yes! I'm seeing one Gordanian bio-signature still active aboard the bridge, as well as two non-Gordanian signatures in a large cargo-hold amidships!"

"Good. Now, we'd best respond to Sentrius before she gets cross," Aelfyre replied. Once the channel was open, Aelfyre answered the Battlestation's warning. "Attention Battlestation Sentrius; this is Kymellian Training-Craft _StormHerd_, Admiral Lord Aelfyre Whitemane commanding! We are in pursuit of unmarked Gordanian vessel caught trespassing upon Confederate sovereign space; we arrived here by following said vessel through a blind step-through jump! As per your instructions, we are standing down pursuit, but the Gordanian vessel was critically damaged in the jump; we are teleporting aboard to render aid!"

"_Understood, Admiral; we are deploying craft to assist you, estimated arrival-time three minutes. Please proceed with caution._"

"Acknowledged, Sentrius. We thank you."

As the transmission ended, the comms officer looked nervous. "Admiral, sir…w-we don't have any training or experience with ship-to-ship rescue ops, let alone jumping onto a hostile vessel…"

"…which is why none of you will be participating in such an operation, cadet," Aelfyre replied. "I will be going myself."

His eyes going wide, the helmsman jumped from his seat. "_W-What?_" he cried. "M-Milord, you can't possibly..!"

Aelfyre fixed him with a stern glower. "As you _were_, Cadet Whitemane!"

Stricken from the admonition, Cadet Kofi Whitemane, sharing his father's ivory coat but getting his ebony mane from his mother, sat down reluctantly. "F-Father, you…you shouldn't go alone; let some of us help…"

With a mildly exasperated sigh, Aelfyre let some of the sternness fade from his face. "I am not an untrained cadet, son; I will be fine," he answered. "My orders stand."

His discipline returning, Kofi nodded. "Yes, Admiral."

Satisfied, Aelfyre turned to the rest of the crew. "Once I am aboard, your orders are to stand by until Sentrius' forces arrive; if I have not requested an evacuation by then, you may inform her of the situation." As his crew saluted, indicating they understood, Aelfyre took a deep breath. "Cadet, you may activate teleporters when ready."

"Aye, Admiral; teleporting in 3…2…1…now!"

At the cadet's last word, the silvery teleporter wave engulfed Aelfyre, taking him from the shining bridge of the _StormHerd_ to the dank, humid bowels of the Gordanian vessel. Emerging from the teleport, Aelfyre found himself in the middle of a long corridor with numerous sparking consoles, both its walls lined with force-field-barred doors.

Holding-cells.

Looking through the cells, Aelfyre felt horror grip him, as found every occupant shot dead by a Gordanian weapon. '_A slave-ship; they killed their hostages to conceal their crime…_'

Fresh fury filled Aelfyre's veins at that realization. '_The Confederacy will hear of this; these monsters will NOT escape justice!_' he quietly vowed, as he began to race down the corridor…but a sudden pounding sound stopped him. Turning, Aelfyre's eyes went wide as he found one survivor amongst the dead captives: a young, orange-skinned humanoid female – a Tamaranian girl, only a few years older than his own son – with long, brilliant ruby hair, and glowing emerald-green eyes, clad in a scanty, reflective-purple garment that barely covered her ample curves and lower regions. As the girl pounded on her cell's force-field, chattering frantically in her native tongue, Aelfyre quickly moved to the access-panel…only to find it damaged beyond repair. Quickly tapping the Universal Translator on his uniform, Aelfyre raised his hands to reassure her. "Please, miss, calm yourself! I intend to free you, but the console is damaged; I will have to do so from the bridge!"

The girl started to calm down, as she responded, her speech somewhat stilted by the Translator. "Not Gordanian?"

Aelfyre shook his head. "No; Kymellian," he replied. "What has happened here?"

The young woman suppressed tears. "Gordanians come to Tamaran; would attack if we not give slaves," she said. "My family and others agree; they take us, and…and do things to us."

Aelfyre felt his heart wrench. "And then they killed all the others here."

The Tamaranian nodded. "I not know why I not killed, yet," she murmured. "Maybe things they do to me work; not work with others."

Aelfyre was confused. "What do you mean?" he asked, before he suddenly felt the ship tremble – re-entry. "T-That does not matter, right now; I promise, I will get you out of here!"

The girl smiled. "Thank you." With that, Aelfyre raced off, heading for the bridge.

Reaching the bridge in minutes, Aelfyre quickly moved to the main control-console, fighting his rising gorge as he stepped over the corpses of the crew, all killed by the spatial surge of firing the step-through drive without proper calculations. He tapped a few keys, powering up the interface, and deactivated all the force-fields in the prisoner holding-area. He was about to shut down the system and start looking for the other survivor, but he caught sight of their database, and started to skim through…

…at which point his eyes nearly bugged out of his head in pure, utter _horror._ '_Maker, preserve me…t-they were trying to..!_'

"You should have let us be, Kymellian!"

Aelfyre instantly recognized the hiss of the Gordanian vocal tract, as he looked up to spot one of the tall, muscular lizard-humanoids – the lone survivor – clad in the plate-armour of a lead officer, with a metal canister clipped to his belt, and a laser-weapon in his claws. "Who else have you told of our operation?"

Aelfyre remained calm, his eyes narrowed. "Enough that there will likely be reinforcements here in minutes, Gordanian," he replied. "You saw what system we landed in! If you think that battlestation will let you run, you're mad!"

The Gordanian smirked, his forked tongue flicking out and in. "It might if I had a Kymellian Admiral for a hostage."

Aelfyre readied himself. "Bold words, lizard, but what makes you think you can fulfill them?"

The Gordanian laughed. "_This!_" With that, he popped the top off of the canister, allowing a viscous dark liquid to bubble out and cover him completely; the moment the liquid touched him, the Gordanian grew to half again of his normal height, his muscle-mass more than doubling, as his teeth and tongue tripled in length, while his eyes became pupilless, lidless white blotches on his snakelike head.

Alarmed, Aelfyre could only gape. "What in the Emperor's name..?"

"_SSNNRRRREEEERRRARRRGGHHH!_"

The bestial roar of the transformed Gordanian took Aelfyre by surprise as he barreled into him. Pushed backwards, Aelfyre strained against his opponent, but to no avail – the Gordanian's new strength far exceeded his own.

Fortunately, strength was not all that he had.

Focusing, Aelfyre activated one of his people's innate powers, dropping his body's density down to that of a gas and turning him into vapour, allowing the Gordanian to run through him and crash into the consoles behind him, which caused sparks to burst forth from them…and pitching the ship into a near-lethal trajectory towards Earth.

As he re-formed himself, Aelfyre almost tipped over, his hooves sliding against the slanted floor, until he enshrouded himself with a white-black aura, negating gravity around himself. "Listen to me, you fool! This ship is going to crash; if we don't get out of here, we're all done for!"

Aelfyre didn't know if the Gordanian was beyond reasoning or verbal ability, but the effect was the same. Roaring again, the transmuted reptile darted at him, claws flashing, but Aelfyre darted clear at blinding speeds, leaving a spectrum-trail in his wake. The mutated Gordanian recovered fast, and leapt at him again, but Aelfyre unleashed an antigravity wave, lifting the Gordanian off the floor and causing his own momentum to slam him into the wall. Incensed even further, the Gordanian drew his sidearm, opening up on Aelfyre with a blistering torrent of laser-fire. Darting out of the way of the initial barrage, Aelfyre took refuge behind a damaged console, before shutting his eyes, focusing hard…and then stepping back out into the oncoming fire.

With all that he had, Aelfyre kept his focus as he willed his body to absorb the laser-beams, his frame glowing gold as the incoming energy was drawn into him, his brows twitching slightly as he fought the burning sensation racing through his innards, until he had enough – rolling clear, Aelfyre took aim, and unleashed the stored energy in one massive surge, blasting the Gordanian clear off his feet, and sending him sprawling, on the verge of unconsciousness.

Taking a deep breath, Aelfyre tried to regain his balance when the entire ship shook, almost knocking him off his feet. '_Maker, I did not think I'd hit him THAT hard!_' he thought, before realizing that the impact had come from _outside_ the ship – specifically, from outside the bridge, behind him. Curious, Aelfyre moved to the Sensors station, bringing up a vid-screen of the outside…and immediately did a double-take. '_By the Emperor…is this Jor-El's ghost?_'

Rubbing his eyes before he looked again, Aelfyre realized his error; there _was_ a young man, clad in a red-blue version of the Kryptonian Defence Force uniform, flying against the ship as he pushed it into a stable re-entry, but he was much too young to actually _be_ Jor-El, despite the resemblance. '_Of course; this must be Jor's son!_' Aelfyre thought, as a smile crossed his face. '_Jor, only you could have devised a way for your son to escape..!_'

_SSCCRRRRRRRUUNNCCCHHH!_

The sickening sound of metal wrenching and twisting away from metal shook Aelfyre out of thoughts of his old friend, prompting him to check the ship's status. '_Maker…this vessel's going to rip itself apart, directly amidships!_' His horror kicking his fight-or-flight into overdrive, Aelfyre pored over the specifics of the readout: the ship was going to rend itself in two, directly between the bulkheads of the prisoner's holding-cells.

The Tamaranian girl would either be sucked into the black, or cast into the heat of re-entry.

His eyes narrowed, Aelfyre raced to the ship's teleporter-systems, frantically trying to get the emergency beam-out online; the system was functioning – barely – but it lacked power. His hands racing, Aelfyre rerouted a fraction of the ship's waning reserves to the teleporter, which caused the whining of the vessel's hull to grow to a full groan…seconds before it gave way.

Outside, the ship literally ripped itself in half, with the forward section, guided by the young Kryptonian, now careening off wildly without its rear bulk to drag it, while the aft section pitched east, glowing red with heat. The Kryptonian raced to catch up with the fore section, trying to steady its descent…and causing him to miss the green flash of light from the teleporter as it deposited Aelfyre, the unconscious Gordanian, and the alarmed Tamaranian into the open air.

Rolling wildly through the air, Aelfyre summoned his gravity-powers, righting himself and grasping his two charges, trying to slow their descent. Enshrouded in white-black, the Gordanian and Tamaranian's descent both slowed, but the Tamaranian, simultaneously overjoyed by her new freedom and alarmed by the situation, suddenly pulled away, flying far from Aelfyre's grip, out of control towards the falling forward section.

Aelfyre half-smiled. '_Well, at least one of their prisoners survived,_' he mused. '_Regardless, once I land, I will have to contact Jor's son, and inform him of…_'

And then a wild crosswind knocked into Aelfyre, shaking his control enough for the Gordanian to slip free, falling towards one of the large cities looming below, while Aelfyre was knocked towards the outskirts. Gritting his teeth, Aelfyre summoned all his strength, trying to slow his fall; he had already dropped below terminal velocity, but he was still going to hit hard…

…and then, as a pleasant-looking human outskirt-settlement raced up to greet him, he knew no more.

XXXXXXXX

_Gotham City_

The mid-day bustle of Gotham City was gradually dimming as dusk began to creep into the horizon, but the daily noise instantly came to a halt as a thunderous boom echoed high above the city, prompting the citizenry to look up…where they spotted the massive, flaming hulk of wreckage as it dropped from the stratosphere at terminal velocity. The sight of the burning mass instantly sent them into a panic, as they ran for their lives, trying desperately to escape…

…until another thunderclap echoed.

Streaking across the Gotham skyline, Superman raced towards the fiery wreckage, regaining his hold on the vessel's forward section and pushing with all his might; slowly, the wreck turned, until its width was facing down, increasing its drag and cutting its speed…but not by enough to stop it.

Not alone, at least.

Seconds after Superman made the initial intercept, Green Lantern moved in, enshrouding the wreck in green and pulling it to the side, altering its course, while Wonder Woman flew in to grab hold and push with Superman, doubling the effort to slow the wreck. Gradually, the wreckage's velocity began to drop, as its trajectory inched away from Gotham towards the open water. Once the wreck was about a mile above the water, Wonder Woman darted clear, while Green Lantern shifted his beam to pull against its weight, as Superman kept pushing, right up until it hit.

_SSSSPPLLOOOOOOOOOSSHH!_

The wreck impacted the water with terrible force, sending waves out to wash over Gotham's piers, soaking everything not tied down…but no more than that. As Green Lantern and Wonder Woman touched down on the nearby pier, the water nearby swelled, before a soaken Superman flew up and out of it, touching down next to them, sporting a grimace. "_Blleeecch!_" he sputtered. "I gotta get some _mouthwash_ before we head out – Gotham's water-treatment system needs a _major_ overhaul!"

Green Lantern suppressed a chuckle. "Better not tell Alison that, anytime soon."

"I assume everything is under control."

The voice of the Dark Knight made Wonder Woman jump, prompting her to spin around to frown at her teammate. "That is becoming _most_ tiresome, Batman!"

Standing directly behind Wonder Woman, his arms folded, Batman never let his expression change. "What are we dealing with?"

His eyes flaring electric-blue, Superman swept the wreckage with his X-ray vision, and then infrared. "It looks like a Gordanian reconnaissance vessel, although the cargo-hold – or what's left of it – has had some hefty modifications," he observed. "I'm not spotting any life-signs – can you spot anything, Lantern?"

Passing an emerald scan-beam over the wreck, Green Lantern shook his head. "There's no-one home, Superman," he replied. "I've got a few residual heat-traces, but that's it. The crew must have bailed before impact."

Diana looked confused. "How did it get here?"

Green Lantern re-checked his scan-data. "From the looks of the hull, this ship was in a fight, and had to make an emergency jump," he said. "A _blind_ jump – no wonder it's all torn up; without precise calculations, a spatial jump can rip a ship in _two!_"

Batman frowned. "We should pull the flight-recorder, and find out what happened."

Superman nodded. "Agreed; we'll signal Sentrius to send a few ships to tow this wreck back into orbit. Once we retrieve the emergency backup, we can send it into the sun."

Wonder Woman looked worried. "Wait, didn't this vessel break apart, in orbit? What became of the other half?"

Checking his belt-computer, Superman smiled. "Already taken care of, Diana; Kara and J'onn got the call on that one. The aft section is floating in the New York bay, awaiting pick-up. No survivors there, either."

"Good to hear," Green Lantern said. "Well, it looks like this one's in the bag; what say we..?"

And then a red-orange blur raced by overhead, darting towards Gotham.

Batman's eyebrow ticked. "I thought you said there were no survivors."

Superman sighed. "What do I know?"

Batman was instantly all business. "The three of you will have to pursue this unknown from the air; I'll contact Robin and Batgirl and have them assist with the intercept. I'll follow when I can." No-one argued, as Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern all went airborne, racing after the bogey, while Batman ran to the Batmobile parked in the shadows.

Flying after the orange streak, Superman caught up to it instantly, closing on it enough to realize it was a person – specifically, a young woman. "If you can understand us, please land on the nearest rooftop!" he called out. "We want to help you!"

Evidently, the young woman heard him, although she likely didn't understand, given her furious expression. "_Tou mec regrunaes nir!_"

Both the language and the girl's orange skin confirmed it. '_A Tamaranian,_' Superman realized, forcing him to switch languages. "_Tec regruno nir; tec aydarames…_"

"_Nar! Mec malvarte dicaes!_" With that, the Tamaranian woman made a hard turn, causing her pursuers to shoot past.

As Wonder Woman and Green Lantern came to a stop in midair next to him, Superman grimaced. "Obviously that _wasn't_ just a regular recon vessel."

Wonder Woman arched an eyebrow. "You understood her?"

Superman nodded. "Basically, she said she wouldn't let us take her back, I told her we wanted to help, and she called me a liar."

Green Lantern's smile was wry. "Yeah, that's pretty much how most First Contacts go."

"This is no laughing matter, John!" Diana admonished. "That girl is undoubtedly frightened on a world that is entirely foreign to her; we must calm her down!"

Sparing a glance in the direction the Tamaranian had flown, his eyes electric-blue as his telescopic vision tracked her, Superman went pale. "In that case, we'd better move – things are about to get worse!"

As he and his teammates raced after their quarry, Superman saw a cowl-and-scalloped-cape-clad figure – with a flash of red hair peeking out from the back of her cowl – zip across a rooftop ahead of the Tamaranian. Taking aim with her grapnel-gun, Batgirl fired a grapple-line, snagging the Tamaranian's ankle perfectly. "I got her, guys!" Batgirl called, moving to secure her line to part of the roof. "I got – _WHOOOAAAAACCKK!_"

With a shriek, the Tamaranian woman raced ahead, yanking Batgirl – along with the section of pipe she'd secured her line to – off of the rooftop, leaving her dangling behind in midair. Several more rooftops ahead, a crimson figure with a black cape and eye-mask raced to the edge; with expert aim, Robin threw a trio of flash-bang charges at the Tamaranian, before leaping into mid-air and firing his own grapnel-line; the charges detonated around her, stunning her as Robin's line snagged her other ankle, causing his and Batgirl's combined weight to drag her to the ground.

Letting out a relieved sigh as her feet touched solid earth, Batgirl glanced to her partner. "Took your sweet time, bird-boy."

Robin rolled his eyes. "Hey, I still had to tune up my bike, after _somebody_ took it for a joy-ride..."

"_Tou…tou KLORBAG VARBLER-NELK!_"

The Tamaranian girl's shouting accusation drew Robin and Batgirl's attention in time to spot her hands and eyes starting to glow a brilliant emerald…right before twin beams of green energy lanced from her eyes, prompting the two of them to leap clear. Almost falling on her butt, Batgirl gaped. "She's got _laser-eyes?_ Why didn't Batman _tell_ us?"

Drawing and extending his bo-staff, Robin readied himself. "You know him," he muttered. Slowly, he walked towards their agitated attacker. "Look, lady, will you take it easy? We just want to…"

His words fell on deaf ears; shrieking with fury, the Tamaranian clenched her fist, condensing the glow of her hand into a solid energy-bolt, and let it fly. His eyes going wide, Robin quickly used his staff to pole-vault himself over the blast…only to meet the girl's fist on his land, which snapped his staff in two before impacting his chest, sending him flying across the street. Tumbling across the concrete, Robin quickly did a handspring, coming back up on his feet with a deadly scowl. "That was my lucky staff, you psycho!" he shouted. "Okay, missy, you _asked_ for it!"

Reaching for his belt, Robin drew a cluster of flash-bangs and let them fly, where they detonated right in front of his attacker. With the Tamaranian reeling, Robin darted straight at her; recovering faster than Robin had gambled, the Tamaranian readied another blast, but Robin had already somersaulted over her. Firing off a kick to the back of her knee-joint, Robin quickly grabbed both her wrists once she was staggered, before planting his foot just below the back of her neck and pushing down, slamming her against the pavement. "I suggest you _cool_ it, lady; you're not overcoming your own center of grav – _AAAACCK!_"

He was cut off as the Tamaranian suddenly flew straight up, pitching them both wildly and causing Robin to lose his grip and sending him tumbling towards the street. Recovering fast, Robin fired a grapnel-line and swung clear, but the girl closed on him, energy-bolts at the ready; her hand was up to throw when a solid emerald hand grabbed her by the wrist, spoiling her aim. Enraged further, the Tamaranian glared at Green Lantern, her eyes flaring green as she launched another eye-beam, but Wonder Woman quickly moved to intercept it, deflecting the blast with her armlets and allowing her teammate to force their attacker back onto the ground.

As Green Lantern's construct deposited her on the street, the Tamaranian girl was about to fly back into the air, when the roar of an engine drew her attention, just before the sleek Batmobile raced out of the shadows; popping open the canopy, Batman leapt out, lobbing a trio of smoke-grenades at the Tamaranian, blending into the fog easily while the Batmobile's autopilot brought it to a perfect stop. Sputtering, the Tamaranian struggled to see through the haze, shrieking with alarm as a black-gloved hand grabbed her wrist, twisting her arm into a submission-hold, before angrily striking back with her free elbow…only to hit nothing, the pressure on her arm instantly gone. Squinting, she spotted a shadow in the distant haze, and formed two more energy-bolts in her hands, letting them fly, but the shadow slipped away…and reappeared right next to her. Shrieking with fury, she let loose a flurry of punches, but Batman wove out of the way of every single one, countering with a precise finger-stab to the side of her neck that numbed her right arm completely, followed by a push-kick that she was barely able to block.

Knocked out of the clearing haze, the Tamaranian fought to catch her breath as Superman descended in front of her. "_Tec aydarames, mor tec polorin milyss nenpersames!_" he thundered. "_INMOS DECISTAREK!_"

For a moment, it seemed his command to stop had shaken her, but the young woman readied another pair of blasts…until she glanced at his uniform's crest. Blinking, she looked at him carefully…then at his crest…and then at him again.

Her eyes wide with mortal terror, the Tamaranian gasped, dispelling her blasts as her hands flew to her mouth, before she dropped to her knees, bending forward to touch her forehead to the ground, in complete supplication. Confused, Robin walked over. "Wow. What'd you _say_ to her?"

Superman was equally perplexed. "I just said we wanted to help, but we couldn't let her endanger the city, so I ordered her to stop," he said. "I didn't say anything that would…" But then it hit him, prompting him to slap his forehead. "Oh, no."

Landing beside him, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern walked over. "Problem?" Green Lantern asked.

Wonder Woman looked wary. "Is there a reason she is bowing to you?"

Superman grimaced. "I'm afraid so."

The Tamaranian confirmed his fears. "_X-X'Hal, mircen!_" she pleaded, sitting up, her green eyes teary. "_N-Nec saperam!_"

Green Lantern blinked. "Hold on…I don't know a lot of Tamaranian…but isn't "X'Hal" their name for..?"

"…God," Superman groaned, burying his face in his hand. "The people of Tamaran, when my people explored their planet, were found to be markedly similar to Kryptonians – they'd even begun to show similar levels of physical strength and the ability to fly; add to that fact that they were in the midst of a massive upheaval like our Age of Wars, and we had to observe them. In the last days of their war, we established an observatory on Tamaran, hoping we'd gone unnoticed…but obviously we haven't."

Walking over, Batman arched an eyebrow. "She thinks you're a god." His voice was flat. "I thought you said her people were something like yours."

"On a physical level, yes," Superman answered. "But the Tamaranians didn't come out of their war as luckily as my people did – based on the last surveillance my people did, a few years before the Shi'ar invasion, a lot of their culture, and practically all of their technology was literally wiped out."

Wonder Woman began to understand. "So when your people arrived, they could have been mistaken for gods."

"Unfortunately."

The entire time, the young Tamaranian had been watching their exchange nervously, trying to discern what was going on, but with no luck. She glanced to Superman with a terrified gulp, and then to Batman with another tremble; glancing at Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, she scrunched her nose, before looking at Batgirl with a frown…and settled her gaze on Robin, as she stood up and strode towards him.

Robin was instantly wary. "Guys, she's up to something!" His warning proved true, as she closed on him, and grabbed him by the collar. "What the _hell_, lady? What are you – _MMPPHLLGGMMPHH?_"

Robin's shout of alarm turned muffled as the Tamaranian pressed her lips to his, holding a kiss for several seconds, and then letting go, leaving Robin gasping for air. "_What the HELL?_"

The Tamaranian blinked. "This is your language?"

Now it was Robin's turn to blink. "_Huh?_ You _talk_, now?"

The young woman looked around. "You are able to understand me?"

Wonder Woman was more than perplexed. "Well…_yes!_"

Green Lantern scratched his head. "Damn, I've heard of short learning-curves, but she takes the cake! Did she really learn English in less than an hour?"

"In a way," Superman said. "In my people's studies of Tamaran, we learned that the Tamaranians also possessed a limited kind of "tactile telepathy" that enabled them to, with effort, read the surface-thoughts of others after making skin-to-skin contact…which evidently extends to learning languages."

Batgirl had been snickering up until then, but that revelation made her burst out laughing. "_Oh my GOD, that's CLASSIC!_" she guffawed, falling onto her butt as she held her sides. "She…she literally tried to suck your brain out through your _mouth!_"

Robin scowled. "Next time, _warn_ a guy before you try that, lady."

The Tamaranian frowned back. "You attacked me."

"Yeah, well, _you_ broke my lucky staff; consider us _even._"

Raising his hands, Superman quickly interrupted. "This isn't helping."

The sound of Superman's voice made the Tamaranian cringe with terror, as she whirled around and knelt, almost in tears. "Oh, please, please, _please_ do not be angry with me, o Sky Lord!" she wailed. "I swear I did not know it was you! Please, have _pity!_"

More than a little embarrassed, Superman gently took her by the shoulders and guided her back to her feet. "Miss, please _stop!_" he urged. "_No-one_ is angry with you."

Robin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, speak for yourself, Big Blue."

Batman never so much as turned his head, keeping his tone flat. "Robin."

Robin sighed. "Fine. Sorry."

As the Tamaranian kept her eyes respectfully lowered, still quivering with fright, Superman tried again. "What's your name?"

"K-Koriand'r, Great One." She sniffled. "P-Please, do not punish me; had I known it was you, I would have never fled or attacked..!"

"Right now, young one, we are more concerned with how you came here," Diana soothed. "Were you aboard the Gordanian vessel?"

Koriand'r nodded. "I and many others," she replied, cringing. "They…did things to us."

Superman caught on. "They experimented on you, didn't they?" he asked. "That's how you have the ability to project energy-bolts."

Suppressing a sniffle, Koriand'r nodded again. "Yes, Sky Lord," she murmured. "When the ship began shaking, they killed everyone but me, and would likely have killed me, had the hooved man not arrived."

Green Lantern blinked. ""Hooved man"?"

"I saw him as the ship was falling; somehow, he got the two of us, and the Gordanian captain out of the ship," Koriand'r finished. "I flew away, but I managed to see him slowing his fall."

Batman folded his arms. "So we have one Gordanian and one unknown possibly loose somewhere over the United States."

"Possibly," Superman agreed, "assuming they survived…"

He was cut off by the beeping of his communicator, prompting him to answer. "Superman here."

"_Commander El, we have a situation,_" came Sentrius' report. "_Several minutes ago, a Gordanian ship jumped into Earth orbit…_"

"We have the ship now, Sentrius; it's all under control."

"_I am aware of that, Commander, but I believe the situation is more complicated than that,_" Sentrius continued. "_Immediately following the Gordanian ship, a Kymellian scout-ship jumped into Earth-controlled space in pursuit of it; upon my hail, it stood down pursuit, but its commanding officer, Admiral Lord Aelfyre Whitemane, teleported aboard to render assistance. Is the Admiral presently with you?_"

Instantly, it all clicked into place. "The hooved man…no, Sentrius, the Admiral is not here; we have reason to believe he executed an emergency teleport into open atmosphere with one of the crew," Superman answered. "We'll need to organize a search immediately; contact the rest of the League, and chart probable landing-zones based on the trajectory of the ship."

"_Acknowledged, Commander; in the meantime, it may be prudent for several of you to return to the Watchtower, as several Stealth-Speeders are escorting the Kymellian ship here to dock, and many of the cadets aboard, including the Admiral's son, are quite distressed._"

Superman sighed. "Understood, Sentrius; we'll be by within the hour. Superman out."

Wonder Woman noticed his worried expression. "Bad news?"

"Possibly. Koriand'r's hooved rescuer was a Kymellian Admiral."

Green Lantern grimaced. "_Damn!_" he muttered. "We'd better find him, fast!"

Batman arched an eyebrow. "He could have survived a fall from ten thousand feet?"

"Kymellians have several innate abilities, the power to nullify gravity among them," Superman explained. "He could have slowed his descent enough that he'd survive…but he wouldn't have walked away unscathed."

"Sounds like a search-and-rescue op is in order," Robin observed, before pointing to Koriand'r. "So what do we do with her?"

Superman sighed. "Well, the Watchtower isn't exactly the best place, since we'll be housing several Kymellian cadets," he mused, "and the Fortress is out of the question…so it looks like the Institute is the only reasonable alternative."

Batman nodded. "Robin, you and Lantern will accompany Koriand'r to the Institute; Batgirl and I will remain on-site to commence the initial search here."

Robin frowned. "Why're you sticking _me_ with babysitting?"

Batgirl giggled. "Because she likes you."

"Shut up."

Superman turned to Koriand'r. "Koriand'r, we're going to do everything we can to get you home, but until then, you'll have to stay with some friends of mine; is that alright?"

Koriand'r bowed. "I-I would be honoured to be guest of your friends, Great One!"

Superman groaned, his hand moving to his forehead. "Will you _please_ stop calling me that?" he asked. "I am as mortal as you are."

Koriand'r blinked, dumbfounded. "But…but you are one of the Star-People! Masters of the Shining Palace!" she exclaimed. "It…it would be _blasphemy_ to not address you as such!"

Green Lantern chuckled. "Superman, I think this is going to be an uphill battle."

"Probably," Superman agreed. "Let's just hope finding the Admiral will be easier."

XXXXXXXX

_Power residence, Queens, New York, a few minutes earlier_

The afternoon air was crisp as a light breeze rustled the leaves, blowing through the Queens suburb, dying away as it reached the back yard of the newly-occupied house on the end of the block, its final wisps ruffling the twin blond pigtails of the 8-year-old girl absently skipping rope in her pink-white t-shirt and red shorts to pass the time.

After several more minutes, Caitlin – preferring "Katie" – Power brought her jump-rope to a stop, sighing to herself as she looked forlornly up at her big sister's window, catching glimpses of Julie dancing with her headphones on. That was all she wanted to do, lately: either dance, listen to music, go to the mall, or talk to her friends online about dumb boys…instead of play with her like she used to. Her only options right now were either Alex, who meant well, but always had lots to do at school, or Jerky Jack…

_THUD!_

The sound of something crashing hard into the bushes behind her startled Katie out of her thinking. Curious, she walked towards the broken bushes, and peered over the brambles…before her eyes went wide.

"_Julie, Julie, Julie, Julie, Julie!_"

Frantic, Katie raced into the house, rushing up the stairs towards her big sister's room and throwing open the door, where 15-year-old Julia Power, in her black miniskirt and pink t-shirt, was dancing to one of her Alison Blaire CDs, her headphones over her mid-length auburn hair, her green eyes closed as she danced.

Normally, Katie would have asked if she could dance, too, but she was too freaked-out. "_JULIE!_"

Her eyes scrunching from her sister's yell, Julie took off her headphones to glare at her. "_God_, Katie! What _is_ it?"

Running to the window, Katie pointed towards the yard. "There's a horsey in the bushes, and he's hurt!"

Blinking, Julie followed her to the window, and looked out…only to see nothing. "I don't see anything, Katie."

"Yeah, 'cause he's down in the bushes!"

Julie sighed. "Katie, even _if_ a horse was sitting down in the bushes, we'd be able to see him from here…"

"He's not _sitting_, Julie!" Katie insisted. "And he's not a regular horsey: he's got hands, and some kinda spacesuit..!"

Julie's eyes narrowed again. "I don't believe this: you barged into my room to try and get me to play make-believe?"

Katie sniffled. "I-I'm not making this up, Julie! He's real, and he needs help..!"

"_Out!_"

As her sister angrily pointed to the door, a dejected Katie shuffled out, trying very hard not to cry. '_So much for Julie,_' she thought glumly. '_That just leaves…_'

"Hey, Katie!" The sound of her other brother's voice drew Katie's attention to the right, as 12-year-old Jonathan Power, a bit taller than her, with short, spiky brown hair and brown eyes, in a blue t-shirt and shorts, ran up to her, holding a camera and a bowl. "Snack time!"

Taking the bowl, Katie scrunched up her nose as she found it full of baked beans. "What's this for, Jack?"

Jack grinned. "My latest video-stunt!" he declared. "I just need somebody to eat two whole cans of beans, and then use their farts to launch 'em off a ramp!"

"_EEEWWWWWW!_" Katie shouted, shoving the bowl back into her brother's hands. "I'm not helping with your stupid stunts, Jack! There's a space-horsey in our yard that needs help!"

Jack chuckled. "_Riiiiiiight._"

Katie huffed. "It's _true!_"

Jack's snickers grew. "_Sure_ it is, Shorty."

"_Don't call me Shorty!_" Katie yelled. "_Fine!_ _Be_ a jerk, Jerky Jack! I'll do it _myself!_" With that, she stormed off.

Emerging into the front yard, Katie sat down on the front step in a sulk. '_What am I gonna do? Julie doesn't believe me, and Jack's being…well, Jack!_' she thought. '_How am I gonna help that horsey..?_'

"Hey, guys! I'm home!"

Her expression brightening, Katie bounced to her feet, racing to greet her oldest sibling. "_Alex!_"

Walking through the front gate, 17-year-old Alexander Power, fairly tall and wiry, with short blond hair and amber eyes, in his usual jeans and white t-shirt, grinned as he reached down to ruffle his baby sister's hair. "Hey, Munchkin."

Katie half-pouted at her big brother's greeting. "Don't call me Munchkin."

Alex chuckled. "Okay, okay," he relented. "Sorry I'm a little late; I was checking out some of the after-school programs…"

"Alex, there's no time!" Katie insisted, grabbing her brother's wrist and tugging him into the back yard. "There's some kinda space-horsey in the yard, and he needs help!"

Alex blinked. ""Space-horsey"?" he repeated. "Katie, if this is some kinda game…"

His voice trailed off as Katie pulled the bushes back, revealing the white-maned, equine humanoid being lying there, clad in a space-suit, out cold. "_Whoa…_"

Katie sniffed. "I tried telling Julie and Jack, but they didn't believe me!" she cried. "Alex, if we don't do something, h-he could _die!_"

His expression going firm, Alex raced into the house. "_Julie, Jack, get down here!_"

By the time Katie caught up to her brother, an exasperated Julie and a semi-bloated Jack, in the middle of munching on beans, had come down. "What _is_ it, Alex?" Julie asked.

Jack swallowed. "Yeah! I was in the middle of something!" he said, before scowling at Katie. "Thanks for _nothing_, Shorty."

Katie went red. "_Stop_ calling me..!"

"_Guys!_" Alex shouted. "Didn't either of you listen to what Katie was saying?"

Julie rolled her eyes. "You mean how there's some kind of space-horse in our back yard?" she replied. "You actually _believed_ her?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah! She probably just made that up to get out of helping with my fart video!"

Alex's eyes narrowed. "_What_ fart-video?"

Jack gulped, and quickly looked away. "Nothing. I didn't say fart-video."

"Yes you did!" Katie accused. "You wanted me to eat a whole bunch of beans, and then launch myself off a ramp by farting!"

Alex glared at Jack. "Is that true?"

"Uh…"

Alex groaned. "Putting aside how _wrong_ it is to put your _baby sister_ through such a dumbass stunt, Jack, you _can't_ launch anything off a ramp with farts."

Jack looked down at the ground. "Could if you lit 'em on fire."

Katie looked horrified. "_WHAT?_"

Alex shook his head. "Trying to come up with a word _besides_ dumbass…"

Julie's hands went to her hips. "Bottom line, Alex, is that I didn't _see_ any horse out in the yard!" she said. "It's just Katie's imagination, again!"

Alex frowned at her. "Oh, really?" he asked, before he walked into the yard to point at their inadvertent guest. "Does _he_ look imaginary to you?"

Annoyed, Julie followed him out, but her annoyance quickly turned to awe. "O-Oh my _God…_"

"_See?_" Katie exclaimed. "I _told_ you!"

Following his siblings, Jack peered around Alex to gawk at the equine alien. "_Wow!_" he declared. "Forget stunt-videos; we could document a _first contact!_ Internet fame, here we come!"

He was about to race into the house to grab his camera, but Alex's hand quickly snagged his collar. "This is _serious_, Jack; we don't have time for your scams!"

Katie looked at how still the alien was. "H-He's not moving," she murmured. "You don't…he's not…d-do you think he's..?"

Julie hugged herself. "God, Katie, I don't know…"

And then the equine being gasped for breath.

Jack stared. "Okay. That's _one_ question answered."

Stirring, the alien horse opened his deep black eyes, taking another breath as he tried to stand up; he managed to get one hooved leg on solid ground…but when he put pressure on the other, he let out a sharp cry of pain, falling forward, prompting Alex to rush forward and support him. "Easy, there," he cautioned. "I don't know how big a fall you took, but I'm guessing it was a major one."

Julie looked stricken. "Alex, you _do_ know he can't understand you, right?"

Before anyone could reply, the horse spoke. "T-Thank you."

Jack did a double-take. "_Whoa!_ How'd you do that?"

The horse coughed. "Translator." He tried to stand again. "Must…must warn…danger…"

Katie moved to his side to hold his hand. "Don't worry, Mister Horsey – we'll help you!"

Alex looked worried. "I'm not disagreeing with you, Katie…but _how?_ We aren't set up to help _Earth_ horses, and if Mom and Dad see him, they'll freak and call the police, or the army!"

Katie wilted. "Oh, yeah." Then she brightened again. "We could call Superman and the Justice League! They'd know what to do!" Taking a deep breath, she yelled into the sky as loud as she could. "_Superman! There's an alien horsey in our backyard, and he needs help..!_"

Scandalized, Julie clapped her hand over Katie's mouth. "Katie, are you _insane?_" she cried. "Y-You can't just yell out for Superman like that!"

Katie frowned. "Why not?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Do you really think he'd believe some kid talking about an 'alien horsey,' Shorty? Get real."

Sensing that Katie was about to get mad, Alex jumped in. "Julie and Jack have a point, Katie – without evidence, the Justice League wouldn't believe us," he said, thinking fast. "What we need to do is get proof _to_ them without Mom or Dad knowing."

Katie calmed down. "Okay," she agreed. "Do they have a telephone number?"

Jack snorted. "Yeah, right; if they did, Julie would've had the line _blocked_, last year."

Julie went red. "I _so_ would not!"

"Oh, yeah?" Jack laughed. "Then how come you still have a poster of Superman on your ceiling..?"

"_Shut UP, you little troll!_"

Alex looked like he had a headache. "_GUYS!_" he shouted. "Not helping!"

Katie brightened. "What about Mister X's school? They work with Superman and the League all the time!" she declared. "All we gotta do is put Mister Horsey in a big coat, shades, and a hat, and we can take him on the bus with us!"

Alex suppressed a chuckle. "That kind of disguise only works in cartoons, Katie," he said, before he looked thoughtful. "But that other part might work: if we can get him to the Xavier Institute, Professor Xavier and the X-Men would be able to get word to the League!"

Jack crossed his arms. "How, Alex? Like you said: we can't take him on the bus."

Alex grinned as he fished out his wallet. "I just got my _driver's licence_, remember? I'll just borrow the car from Mom and Dad, and "take you guys to the mall" for an hour or two…"

He was interrupted by the sound of a car pulling up out front. "It's Mom and Dad!" Julie cried. "What do we do?"

"We gotta hide him!" Jack exclaimed, looking around…and settling his eyes on Katie's old play-house. "We can stash him in there!" Promptly, Julie moved to help Alex carry the wounded alien into the play-house, settling him down as best they could, before hurrying back out.

They emerged not a moment too soon; opening the back door, 45-year-old Dr. James Power, tall and lean, with light red-brown hair that matched his thin beard, and green eyes framed by glasses, still in his lab-coat over his button-up shirt and slacks, walked into the yard. Seconds later, their mother, 39-year-old Catherine Power, willowy, with short light-blond hair – like Katie's – and blue eyes, in her usual dress blouse and business-suit skirt, followed him. "Everything alright?" James inquired.

The four of them quickly nodded. "False alarm, Dad," Alex said. "We thought we heard some animal loose in the yard!"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, but it turns out it was just Katie playing make-believe."

Katie pouted. "At least _I_ wasn't trying to use my butt as a ramp-rocket!"

Catherine frowned as she looked to her younger son. "Jonathan, I _hope_ you're not trying to make another one of those ridiculous web-videos again," she warned.

Jack gulped. "No, Mom; no more videos for me."

"Good."

Alex grinned sheepishly. "Uh, Dad?" he asked. "Can I borrow the car for a couple hours?"

James arched an eyebrow. "For what?"

Julie jumped in. "Alex said he'd give me a lift to the mall," she said. "I need to pick up a new outfit."

Now Catherine looked mildly suspicious. "Didn't you get one last week?" she asked, fixing a mildly-disapproving eye on her daughter's too-short skirt. "Come to think of it, I remember telling you _not_ to get that skirt, young lady."

"_MOM..!_"

Sensing an argument brewing, Alex defused it fast. "Actually, I kinda needed to pick up a good science-reference for an assignment, Dad; Julie was just gonna tag along for the ride."

James beamed. "Well, son, if you need a _good_ reference, why not just ask your old man?" he asked. "My work at the university is cutting-edge; my project is practically on the verge of creating antimatter..!"

Alex chuckled. "Thanks, Dad, but I'm gonna need a reference I can _understand._ Sorry."

"Oh." James was mildly deflated. "Well, then, of course, you can use the car…as soon as I get the department's prototype out of the trunk; still need to make some adjustments on it by tomorrow."

"In other words, _after_ dinner," Catherine corrected. "Right now, you can help set the table in the meantime." Smiling at her husband, she added, "Speaking of which, James, I could use a hand with the vegetables…"

"Oh. Right."

As their parents headed inside, Katie blinked. "Wait…_what_ did Dad say he was working on?"

"Antimatter, Katie," Alex replied.

Katie was still scratching her head. "So why's it matter so much?" she asked. "If it's _anti_matter…it shouldn't _matter._"

Julie sighed. "Katie, that's not what…oh, forget it," she said. "At least we can use the car."

Jack grinned. "Oh, yeah: road-trip to the Xavier Institute!" he declared. "Hey, maybe we'll actually _see_ some of the X-Men and the League! Think they'll give us autographs, or maybe give us some pointers on breaking into the super-hero biz?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Jack, did you fall on your _head_ doing that last video?" he asked. "Do we _look_ like superheroes?"

Katie nodded. "Yeah, Jack! We're just gonna get Mister Horsey some help!" she agreed…though her thoughts slightly agreed with her brother: being a super-hero _would_ be pretty cool.

Too bad it wouldn't happen; it wasn't like people were giving superpowers away, right?

XXXXXXXX

_Xavier Institute, Westchester_

_Everything hurt._

_Pain was all she knew as she was wheeled into the bad man's lab, strapped to a gurney, cringing as the white light stung her eyes. Frantic, she tried to get free, but it was no use, even with her new powers…_

"_Less than enthusiastic, Clarice?"_

_Clarice froze as she saw him in his lab-coat, holding a syringe. Smiling that toothy grin, Sinister – though she didn't know that was his name, yet – drew closer. "I believe I can understand your trepidation – my experiments on myself were…somewhat less than pleasant," he admitted. "But this work is vital, my dear; we are both expanding the knowledge of the X-Gene, everyday!" He tapped the syringe, clearing it. "I do hope that helps, but if not…well, you know the saying about breaking eggs."_

_As he drew ever closer, Clarice felt her eyes water. "N-No, p-please..!" she cried, but it was no use, as the needle plunged into her neck…_

With a shriek, Clarice sat bolt upright in her bed, her eyes darting around…only to find herself in the Xavier Institute, in her room, still in her PJs from the morning's check-up.

The check-up she'd run from.

Hugging herself, Clarice scrunched her eyes shut; she knew the blue furry man – Dr. McCoy – was only trying to help, but…just _going_ to the infirmary had looked so much like the lab, she'd freaked out and barricaded herself in her room. '_He probably thinks I'm crazy,_' she thought glumly. '_And maybe I am…_'

"Lantern? Robin? Is everything alright?"

Hearing a familiar voice from her window, Clarice gingerly peered out through it, glancing down at the front yard, where a plain-clothes Supergirl, along with a young, olive-skinned lady in a long dark robe and veil, were meeting Green Lantern, a young man in a red-black uniform, black eye-mask, and yellow-black cape, and a beautiful orange-skinned, flame-red-haired young woman, in some kind of violet swimsuit-like garment. "Yeah, Kara, everything's fine," Green Lantern said, "except for an AWOL Kymellian Admiral somewhere over the Eastern Seaboard."

Supergirl's eyes went wide. "_What?_" she cried. "W-We have to find him!"

Looking slightly uncomfortable at the newcomer – or possibly her choice of attire – the robed woman spoke up. "And your friend..?"

Beaming, the orange beauty darted forward to hug her. "Greetings, friend! I am Koriand'r of Tamaran! I embrace you!"

Gasping for breath, the robed woman managed to choke out. "I am…happy to meet you…as well, Koriand'r," she wheezed. "My name is…Sooraya…"

Kara sighed. "Koriand'r? I'm sure you mean well…but on Earth, we try not to squish our friends."

Squeaking with horror, Koriand'r released Sooraya. "P-Please forgive me, Ladyship! I will restrain myself, in the future!" she cried. "I-I did not hurt you, did I, friend Sooraya?"

Regaining her breath, Sooraya shook her head. "No, not really."

"Joy!"

Robin rolled his eyes. "Oh, _now_ you're all friendly? As opposed to ten minutes ago?"

Koriand'r frowned back at him. "_Now_ you're not attacking me."

Green Lantern put a hand to his forehead. "I'm not gonna have to separate you two, am I?"

"Funny, Lantern."

Looking about, Koriand'r settled her gaze on Clarice's window. "Um…Lady Kara?"

Kara groaned. "It's just Kara, Koriand'r."

Koriand'r kept looking. "Why is there a purple person watching us, Ladyship?"

As the others all looked up towards Clarice's window, a panicked Clarice, by sheer reflex, ducked out of sight, forming a portal-pulse in her hand and tossing it at the floor, where it expanded into a circular rift in space. Gingerly, Clarice poked her head through, to see if she could hide there…

…and found her head poking out of the floor under a desk. Looking around, she found herself in some kind of classroom, with three other students there – two girls, and one boy – as well as the glasses-wearing young man – Scott, if she remembered – standing by the blackboard. "Okay, everyone," Scott said. "Today's lesson is an introduction to tactics; any questions before we begin?"

The tall blonde woman raised her hand. "Why are we the only ones here?"

"Everyone else has already taken a lesson like this, Dinah; it helped us a lot, and I'm sure it'll help you, too."

The Japanese girl raised her hand. "So will we be learning mission-strategy, Scott-san?"

"Almost, Hisako," Scott corrected. "Tactics focuses on the overall plan for any given mission, while strategy centres around on-site plans; strategy can change on the fly, but tactics generally remain the same."

The guy groaned. "So after we get this, _then_ can we get a mission?"

Scott sighed. "We'll talk after the lesson, Rudy," he said…before he glanced under Dinah's desk. "I was just about to start, Clarice; did you want to join us?"

Dinah blinked. "Huh?" Leaning down, she looked under her desk. "Hey..!" Flinching, Clarice yanked her head back into her room, sealing her portal behind her, before tossing another pulse, and leaping through the portal as it formed.

This time, Clarice emerged under a covered table, in an apparently empty room: the kitchen. Closing her portal, Clarice hugged her arms and legs to herself, hoping nobody would come in…but her luck quickly ran out, as three sets of footsteps padded across the checkered floor. "I still say this place beats the Boarding House, Pietro," one voice said, as the heaviest set of footsteps lumbered to the fridge, starting to rummage around.

A second voice chuckled. "You're just saying that 'cause of the free eats, Fred," Pietro quipped. "I'm just not completely fussy about marching to Xavier or Super-Dork's drum, 24/7."

The third voice spoke up. "You sure about that, Pietro?"

At that, two more sets of footsteps walked in, accompanied by a familiar voice. "Hello, friends!"

Pietro let out a half-strangled squawk. "Uh…o-okay, Todd, I might've been kinda hasty…"

Keeping mildly-terrified eyes on the pair of orange-hued feet walking around the table, Clarice kept silent as Koriand'r spoke again. "And what room is this? Some kind of food-storage chamber?"

"That's close enough," came Kara's voice, which turned disapproving, "although I'm pretty sure it's supposed to have enough food for _everyone_, Fred."

Fred stopped his rummaging. "But I was hungry…"

Koriand'r stopped moving. "Wait…Lady Kara, is there someone else here?"

Kara also went still. "Actually, yes, Koriand'r; I'm hearing another heartbeat…_there!_"

Panicking, Clarice tried to form another portal, but it was too late; the tablecloth was lifted up, and a glorious, orange-gold face peeked in at her with a smile. "Hello, friend!"

As Clarice cringed, Kara and Todd both peeked in at her. "It's okay, Clarice," Kara soothed. "You can come on out."

Todd grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, the only dangerous one here is Freddy, and he's just dangerous to a fridge."

"Hey!"

Suppressing mild trembles, Clarice inched out from under the table, slowly standing up, which allowed her to see the eight of them – Green Lantern, Kara, Pietro, Sooraya, Koriand'r, Todd, Robin, and Fred, holding a massive hoagie with a big bite in it – crowded around. "H-Hi."

His smile turning sheepish, Fred broke his sandwich in half, and handed the bite-free half to her. "You hungry?" he asked. "I guess this _is_ a bit much for one guy."

Clarice just stared.

Fred blinked. "Too much?" he asked. "Okay, I can make you another, if you tell me what to put on it." He leaned back into the fridge. "Okay, we got ham, turkey, lettuce, tomato, mustard…"

"Muss…tahrd?" Koriand'r repeated. "What is this "muss-tahrd"?"

Robin snorted. "It's pronounced _mustard,_ lady."

Reaching into the fridge, Fred pulled out a yellow bottle, and popped it open. "It's just something you put on…well, anything, really."

Curious, Koriand'r took the bottle, and gave it a testing sniff, before dabbing a bit of the yellow liquid on her finger to taste it…and beaming. "_Mmmm!_" At once, she yanked the stopper off…and took a huge gulp.

Todd's eye went wide. "Holy crap."

Robin arched an eyebrow. "I guess that's _one_ way to use it."

Fred was dismayed. "Hey! Save some for later!"

Her ruby lips daubed yellow, Koriand'r put the bottle down. "_Glorious!_ I have never tasted so delicious a beverage!" she declared, before handing the bottle to Clarice. "Friend, you _must_ try some!"

Cringing, Clarice shook her head. "N-No, thank you."

Noticing her hesitation, Koriand'r tilted her head. "What is wrong?" she asked. "Do I frighten you?"

Robin crossed his arms. "Yeah, like having mustard on your lips is intimidating."

Koriand'r was about to retort, until she realized Robin was right. "Oh!" Quickly, she licked it off. "A most astute observation; thank you for telling me!"

Pietro looked ready to keel over. "Is anyone else gonna touch on how hot that just was?"

Koriand'r looked confused. "Hot?" she asked. "No, friend, the mustard was quite cold; is it better warmed?"

Kara was trying not to laugh. "That wasn't what he meant, Koriand'r," she managed to say. Calming, she added, "In any case, Clarice here has…had a rough time."

"Oh." Koriand'r turned back to Clarice, still perplexed. "How so?"

Robin put his hand to his head. "So much for tact."

As Clarice hugged herself, Kara moved to her side, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "That's not for us to say, Koriand'r," she said. "It's Clarice's choice."

Koriand'r looked mildly stricken. "P-Please forgive me, friend Clarice! I did not mean to pry!"

Clarice trembled. "T-That's okay."

Green Lantern turned to go. "If that's everything, I'd better be going."

Kara nodded. "You'll notify Aly, Kal, and I when you find the Admiral?"

"Count on it."

As Green Lantern left, Robin looked mildly perplexed. "So you know this Admiral, or something?"

"Not personally," Kara admitted, "but the Kymellian Commonwealth was one of Krypton's closest allies and friends." Her eyes narrowed. "If anyone can help us ferret out who helped the Dheronians, _they_ can."

Robin's expression turned grim. "Oh."

Now it was Koriand'r's turn to look confused. "Ladyship?" she asked. "Of what do you speak?"

Kara sighed. "Koriand'r, that's gonna be a long story…"

XXXXXXXX

_Undisclosed location_

"Do we have eyes on any bogeys?"

In a dark chamber lit only by numerous computer-consoles, dozens of engineers worked furiously, monitoring data-feeds across the United States. "Negative, Director; we're detecting no potential hostiles, other than the one that came down over Gotham City. It looks like the Justice League bottled this up, pretty fast."

In her usual indigo business suit, NSA Director Amanda Waller looked on warily. "Make _sure_ of that," she warned, before turning to her two cohorts. "Ross: is our team ready to deploy?"

Brigadier General Thaddeus Ross, in uniform, nodded. "I can't say I'm fussy about our recruits, Waller…but given the short notice, I suppose we can't complain, too much," he replied. "It might have been different if you'd brought me in on this earlier, Waller."

Amanda frowned. "Given that we couldn't be certain how much Lassider would leak, Ross, it was necessary; we're fortunate that he kept quiet," she answered. "Is there any word on the incident in Egypt?"

Thaddeus shook his head. "Nick's clammed up about it; can't get a word out of him," he said. "'Course, we still got that one threat to deal with."

Next to them, in his grey business suit, his red hair tinged grey, Henry Gyrich scowled. "I still can't believe the President went _along_ with allowing those _creatures_ to keep access to that weapon..!"

"With the Kryptonian bamboozling the U.N. like that, Gyrich, he didn't have much choice," Ross grumbled. "Right now, you just focus on getting our little operation the clearance we need."

Henry nodded. "By now, Robert should be drafting the papers to present to the Senate; between him and Senator Rusk..!"

"Director Waller, we have a contact!"

Amanda instantly focused on one video-screen, showing a glowing red, inhuman shape moving swiftly. "Where?"

"New York, ma'am; Queens, to be precise!" The screen zoomed out, showing another glowing silhouette, surrounded by several human heat-signatures. "We're getting another one, Director; it's in a residential district! The first one's headed right for it!"

Her eyes narrowed, Amanda turned to Ross. "Get the Squad ready to deploy."

Ross had already taken out his cell-phone. "Thunderbolt to Squad-Command; respond."

"_Heeeey, Rossy! I was wonderin' when you were gonna call!_"

Thaddeus rolled his eyes. "Focus, Wilson. We've got a job for you."

"_Sweeeeeet! What's the author got lined up, this time?_"

Ross groaned, putting his hand to his eyebrows. "_Enough_ with the babble, Deadpool; we're sending you the coordinates, now. You're to deal with the two bogeys we've tracked."

"_Oooh, an E.T.-hunt, huh? Cool by me; dead or alive?_"

"Cadmus mandate, Wilson: just make sure any tech they've got makes it. Alive is preferable, but if U.S. citizens are in danger, you pop 'em," Ross said. "Just keep the collateral damage to a _minimum_…and make sure Zmeck understands that; psychotic S.O.B.'s crazier than _you._"

"_I doubt that, Rossy, but okay! I'll keep Major Pain in line!_" came the reply. "_Between me, him, Shots, Robin Hood, and the newbie, we'll have your aliens bagged and tagged in time for dinner! Peace out!_"

As the line went silent, Ross groaned. "Heaven help us, but we've contracted a pack of lunatics."

Amanda nodded soberly. "Until we get a success – and a seal of approval – they're all we've got," she replied. "Hopefully, they'll be enough to pull this off…"

XXXXXXXX

_Field House, Bayville University_

"So, how are you and lover-boy holding up?"

Standing on her yoga-mat in one section of the Field House's main gymnasium, in her light blue yoga-pants and pink tank-top, her hair tied back in a ponytail, Alison sighed as she stretched. "As well as can be expected, Lil."

In similar attire, Lila slightly flinched. "That bad, huh?"

Taking a deep breath, Alison began the first move of their yoga-session, letting out some of the tension that her morning classes had left her with. "Reporters, paparazzi, you name it; it was my first year at Bayville High, all over again."

Lila followed suit, matching her motions. "Any chance you can get Big Blue to get them to back off?"

Alison held back a faint smile. "He actually volunteered, but I said it'd make things worse," she answered. "Thankfully, Aunt Bridget made a few calls and got most of them to back off; remind me to hug her, next time I see her."

"Gotcha." Lila giggled. "And how did Cole take it?"

Alison had to work hard to keep her smirk under control. "Taryn told me she'd heard Adrienne pitched a full-out hissy-fit," she whispered. "Neither she nor _any_ of her Sigma Delta Kappa sisters have so much as come _near_ me, since."

"Yeah, and you're gonna lose sleep over that!" Lila chuckled. "Please tell me you're going to rub it in her face at _some_ point? Maybe have a make-out session with Big Blue just as Cole walks around the corner?"

Alison flushed. "Li-_la!_"

"Just saying!" Lila said, before her expression turned serious. "So…you and the big guy are okay?"

Alison blinked. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"Well…he hasn't been around all that much, lately," Lila pointed out. "Bobby's been handling a lot of X-Force's sessions, and he's been doing great, but…"

"He's been busy with his new job _and_ trying to track down Apocalypse, Lila," Alison admonished. "Once he sets a new equilibrium, things'll get back to normal."

Lila half-chuckled. "Whatever that is."

Suppressing a laugh, Alison was about to respond, when a somewhat familiar voice interrupted her. "Um…excuse me?"

Turning around, Alison spotted a young, red-haired woman, a little bit younger than Lila, in exercise shorts and a white tank-top, inched towards them, looking mildly nervous. "I-I-I hope you don't mind, but…most of the gym is in use, so I was wondering..?"

Recognizing her, Alison smiled. "…if you could work out with us?" she finished. "Sure!"

The young woman beamed. "R-Really?" she asked. "T-Thanks!" Pausing, she flinched. "Oh, God, I'm sorry; I-I didn't introduce myself!" she cried. "I'm Mary-Jane, but you can just call me…"

"…MJ; we know," Alison said, looking around to make sure no-one was listening. "I remember you from when…your boyfriend got caught in Zod's crosshairs."

Understanding, MJ nodded. "Y-Yeah, I remember, too," she said. "That day, I didn't know whether to be relieved he was okay, or mad at him for doing something so _stupid!_"

Lila giggled. "Well, Aly, you sure know _that_ feeling!"

Alison sighed. "MJ, I know _exactly_ what you mean – _my_ boo practically makes a _career_ out of scaring me half to death with his boneheaded moves," she agreed.

Mary-Jane suppressed a faint smile. "So I've heard."

At that very moment, Alison's gym-bag began to beep, prompting her to fish out her communicator. "Hello?"

"_Hey, taushi, it's me._"

The sound of her boyfriend's voice instantly brought a smile to Alison's face. "Hi, baby," she cooed. "I was just talking about you…which I'm sure you heard, already."

Clark chuckled. "_Unfortunately, no; I'm still at the Watchtower, smoothing things out with these Kymellian cadets. Admiral Whitemane's son is particularly peeved we still haven't found his dad._"

Alison nodded. "You'll find him, _tausha;_ I know it."

"_Thanks, Aly; I just hope it's…huh? Hang on, taushi._" There was a moment's pause, before Clark's voice turned urgent. "_Aly, we've got trouble: I just heard back from Victor – he's found the Admiral…but so has one of the Gordanian crew!_"

Alison was instantly all business. "Do you need me out there?"

"_Definitely, taushi; from what Vic's saying, this guy's hopped up on something, and there are civilians in the area! Arrow, Flash and I are already en route!_"

"Got it, baby; I'll be there as soon as I can!"

As Alison switched off her communicator, Mary-Jane looked worried. "Trouble?"

Alison nodded. "Duty calls," she sighed. "We're gonna have to reschedule our workout, Lils."

Lila shook her head. "Not a problem, girl," she replied. "You just get out there and kick butt!"

Alison smiled. "Thanks!" Grabbing her gym-bag, she hurried out, looking over her shoulder as she ran. "Nice meeting you, MJ!"

MJ smiled back. "Likewise!" With that, Alison darted for the nearest door, making for the nearest change-room with an outside window as fast as she could.

XXXXXXXX

_Queens, a few minutes earlier_

"_Thanks again for helping us on this, Vic._"

In his black jeans and grey sweater, with the hood partially covering his cybernetic eye, Victor walked through the Queens suburb, his communicator to his ear as his eye scanned the neighborhood, checking for any unusual heat-signatures. "Don't mention it, CK; if this guy can help track down the skels that had Krypton whacked, I'm all in."

"_Right now, the most important thing is finding Admiral Whitemane and getting him help,_" Superman replied. "_From what his son said, the Admiral's equipped with translator tech, but there's no way to know if it survived the fall; if you find him, and he doesn't understand you, just hail the Watchtower, and put him on the line so I can talk to him._"

"Gotcha." Victor looked around. "So this is where the big gal figured he landed, huh?"

"_It looks like it, Vic; of all the possible landing-sites Sentrius tagged, yours was the most probable, though we have got the League and most of the X-Men checking the others._"

Victor whistled. "Well, if the guy had to pick a drop-zone, he couldn't have picked a better one; this place is more than a little on the swank side, CK," he mused. "Hope he's not spooked by a machine-man stopping by; you know how folks tend to get nervous around me."

"_I wouldn't expect too much trouble from the Admiral, Victor; plus, Ollie and Wally should be arriving to assist you within five minutes._"

"Good to hear, Smallville; we should be able to cover more…hold on." Victor's eye-readout started beeping, showing a spike in residual heat from one of the nearby houses…originating from the sky. "CK, I may have something here; I'll call when I know more. Cyborg out." Switching off his communicator, Vic ran towards the house.

Reaching the front yard, Victor was about to round the fence, but the sound of voices made him crouch down, out of sight. "Are you sure about this, Alex?"

"It's the only thing we can do, Julie. We can't leave this guy here, and the hospitals won't know what to do with him; the Xavier Institute is his best shot."

The first girl's voice answered him. "I know, I know. It's just that…what if some of the League – or maybe even _Superman_ – is there, and I show up looking like _this?_"

A younger girl spoke up. "_Julie!_ Mister Horsey doesn't have _time_ to wait around for you to pick a new outfit!"

A younger boy snickered. "Shorty's actually right, Jules; besides, I don't think Superman's gonna drop _Alison Blaire_ for _you._"

"_JACK!_"

"_STOP CALLING ME SHORTY!_"

With a sigh, Alex spoke again. "_Guys!_"

Victor had to chuckle to himself. '_Bingo!_' As casually as he could, he stood up, and strolled into view. "You kids need a hand?"

The four kids all froze, with the younger two quickly darting in front of something wrapped in a blanket they'd been about to load into the back seat of a car. "W-Who are you?" the older girl – Julie – asked.

"A Good Samaritan," Victor answered. "Just curious, since I hear that alien horses have been dropping out of the sky, lately."

The younger girl's eyes went wide. "You know about Mister Horsey?" she exclaimed. "'Cause he's really hurt, and we have to get him to..!"

"_KATIE!_" the younger boy – Jack – shouted.

The oldest kid – obviously Alex – raised his hands. "Sorry, pal, but we don't know anything about that; we're just taking a trip to the mall."

Victor shrugged. "Okay; no problem." As if he was about to go, Victor turned around, fishing out his communicator. Hailing the Watchtower, he loudly spoke into it. "Hey, Supes? False alarm – thought a bunch of kids found him, but it was a dead end."

Superman sounded confused. "_I thought you had a heat-lock on him, Vic; what happened?_"

Victor suppressed a chuckle, keeping his voice low. "Just play along, CK," he whispered. Out loud, he added, "Yeah, you don't need to drop by; nothin' to see here."

Julie paled. "You…you have _Superman_ on the line with you?" she cried, frantically trying to smooth out her hair. "You _KNOW_ him?"

Stricken, Katie pushed her way forward. "Superman, you gotta help! Mister Horsey got real hurt when he fell from the sky, and we were gonna bring him to Mister X's school so you could help him..!"

Jack groaned. "Way to go, Captain Blabbermouth!"

Victor smirked. "Hold on, Big Blue." To the kids, he added, "Care to try again?"

Alex sighed. "We're busted, guys," he said. "Jack, Katie, show him." Moving clear, Jack and Katie stood by as their big brother pulled back the blanket, revealing the semi-conscious form of a spacesuit-clad, equine humanoid being. "We found him in our back yard; we were trying to help, honest..!"

"Take it easy, man; nobody's mad at you," Victor soothed, before he aimed his communicator at the humanoid. "Big Blue? You're on the air."

Loud and clear, Superman's voice echoed across the airwaves. "_Brother in bonds, I greet thee thrice,_" he intoned. Seconds later, he added, "_Fraetor servak, tor velorae._"

The alien instantly perked up at that, as he sat up with a wince. "Your grasp…of Kymellic is excellent, friend, but it will not be necessary; my translator is functional."

Superman's smile was evident. "_It's good to hear you, Admiral; we've all been concerned, especially your son._"

The Admiral coughed. "You may tell Kofi that, besides a bruised lung and a fractured thigh-bone, I am well," he answered. "And what may I call you, son of Jor-El?"

Superman was silent for a few seconds. "_I am Kal-El, Admiral; it's an honor to meet you._"

Jack was bug-eyed. ""Admiral"?" he repeated.

Superman chuckled. "_Is this one of the kids who found him?_" he asked.

Alex gulped. "Yes, sir; that's my brother Jack. I'm Alex, and these are my two sisters, Julie and Katie."

"_Well, Alex, on behalf of myself and the rest of the League, I'd like to thank you all for helping our friend, here,_" Superman answered. "_On that note, please allow me to introduce His Grace Lord Admiral Aelfyre Whitemane of the Kymellian Commonwealth Defence Fleet._"

Coughing, the Admiral started to stand up. "You have my thanks as well, children," he added. "Now, if you do not mind, I will take my leave…"

"Kids, what time did you plan to…_what on Earth?_"

Victor turned towards the house, where he found two adults – the kids' parents – standing there, gawking in utter bewilderment at him and the Admiral. "Justice League business, sir," he said, thinking fast. "It's all under control."

The mother's expression turned stern. "Alexander, does _this_ have anything to do with you wanting the car?"

Alex gulped. "Uh…"

Jack flinched. "Maybe?"

Aelfyre quickly stepped in. "Good woman, your children were only attempting to render assistance to me; had they not done so, my injuries could have rapidly deteriorated."

Katie nodded. "Admiral Horsey was really hurt when he fell from the sky, Mom! We had to do _something!_"

The father was still in mild shock. "Then…you're..?"

"A friend," Aelfyre answered. "One that has no wish to intrude upon your hospitality any further."

Moving in to loop Aelfyre's arm over his shoulder, Victor nodded. "You folks don't need to worry about this; we've got it in hand." Putting his communicator to his ear, he added, "Big Blue, you'd better tell Aly's Aunt to drop by my location; we need some feathers smoothed over…"

He froze as his optic implant started to beep again, showing another approaching heat-signature, _much_ larger than the Admiral's. "Hold on." Victor looked to the Admiral. "Were there any _more_ of your people aboard that ship when you bailed?"

Aelfyre shook his head. "No; there was only the Tamaranian girl…and one of the Gordanian crew, equipped with some sort of bio-augmentation system!"

Victor grimaced. "Oh, crap…Watchtower, did you get that?"

"_Loud and clear, Vic; Aly and I are en route to assist, and Arrow and Flash should be there in a few minutes! If this guy's hostile, you'll need to hold him back until then..!_"

"_SSNNRRRREEEERRRARRRGGHHH!_"

The sound of that guttural roar drowned out the rest of Superman's warning, prompting Victor to look up at the Powers' roof, where a large, muscled, black-skinned lizard-thing was perched, waiting to pounce. "Yeah, I think we can rule out that "If" part, man."

Roaring again, the augmented Gordanian struck, leaping straight at Victor and slamming him to the ground with a tackle, causing Aelfyre to get thrown to the side. Landing on his feet, the Gordanian caught sight of the Power family, and started to stalk towards them, claws bared, and fangs dripping…

Taking a deep breath, Aelfyre aimed his hands at the family, and let loose a black-white energy-pulse, instantly turning them weightless as he yanked them to the side, evading the Gordanian's charge…before he let out a cry of pain, sagging back to his knees. Regaining focus on his true target, the Gordanian roared, racing towards Aelfyre and grabbing him by the throat, opening his maw for a fatal bite…

Getting back on his feet, Cyborg was instantly ready, morphing his arm into his sonic cannon. "Suck on _this_, buster!" he shouted, before he opened fire, blasting the augmented lizard with a _wall_ of pure sonic force. Howling with agony as the sound ripped into him, the Gordanian dropped Aelfyre, collapsing as part of his black coating started to melt away, revealing his true, green-scaled self.

Jack grinned. "_Cool!_" he exclaimed. "That was so _awesome!_ Can _I_ get one of those?"

Cyborg grinned. "Sorry, little man, but no dice," he answered. "Take it from me: you wouldn't _want_ one, if you knew how I got it…"

"Wow, this sure makes my job easier!"

Hearing that semi-manic voice prompted Cyborg to turn, where he found a red-black-clad, hooded man, armed with a katana and a pair of revolvers, leaning by the fence. His thoughts flashing through some of the League's case-files, Cyborg glared at the newcomer, recognizing him. "What do you want, Deadpool?"

"Oh, not much: a new bouncy-castle, one or two nacho-cheese chili chimichangas – you know, the usual," Deadpool answered, before his masked eyes narrowed. "But right now, I'll settle for Scale-ass and Hooves, there; fork 'em over so I can go home."

Katie was instantly irate. "_Y-You leave Admiral Horsey alone!_"

Deadpool laughed. "Aw, ain't you cute, Pigtails!" he chortled. "Word of advice, though: _never_ yell at a masked guy with guns and a sword, _especially_ if he's nuttier than a squirrel's breakfast buffet-table."

Cyborg re-armed his sonic-cannon, levelling it at Deadpool. "I _know_ you didn't just threaten a little kid in front of me, Wilson."

Deadpool groaned. "_Seriously_, Tin-Butt? We _have_ to do this?" he griped. "Can't you just be a pal? I got _bills_ to pay!"

Cyborg had just about had enough, as he got a solid target-lock on Deadpool…when a surge of purple-black energy slammed into him, blasting him across the Powers' yard and into the street, while a tall, well-muscled man, made seemingly of red-yellow _metal_, with a crest of a combined 'M' and 'F' etched onto his chest over his heart, walked into view. "Time for talking's over, Wilson; now we do this _my_ way."

Deadpool was irate. "_Zmeck!_ What the _hell?_" he fumed. "Didn't I tell you to _cool_ it? Every pot-shot you fuck up shrinks my profit-margin!"

"That's _Major Force_ to you, Wilson," the metal man growled. "And unlike you, I'm in this for my country, not my paycheck."

Deadpool glowered into empty space. "_Seriously_, Author? Of all the nut-jobs you could've stuck on my team, you pick the one that shoots _dark quantum energy?_"

Walking past the Power family, Major Force paused to glare at them. "You two saw _nothing,_" he warned. "This whole Charlie-Foxtrot was just a gas-line breaking, got it?" He glowered at the kids. "And that goes _double_ for you brats."

Taking a deep breath, Alex glared back. "And if we don't?"

Major Force's lidless gold eyes narrowed, as he clenched his fist, causing it to glow black-violet. "Then you got a problem, junior."

Looking up, Katie grinned. "Actually, Major Foil-Jerk…_you_ do!"

Major Force arched an eyebrow. "And just why's that – _MMMRFFGGRGG!_"

Major Force's remark was stifled as a glue-filled arrow splatted over his face, leaving him stumbling around blindly while a Javelin flew by overhead, allowing Green Arrow to leap out, taking up a cover-fire position on a nearby rooftop. Spotting him, Deadpool was about to return fire, but he was summarily bowled over by a crimson streak, as the Flash raced over to Cyborg, helping him back to his feet. "You okay, man?"

Cyborg groaned. "Took you guys long enough."

Deadpool was fuming. "Okay, Author, how long are you gonna keep this nick-of-time schtick going? Does Darko and his fire-planet have to show up for you to start mixing shit up?"

Julie blinked. "_What?_ What are you talking about, you psycho?"

Deadpool blanched. "Crap. Spoilers." He waved his hands rapidly. "F-Forget I said anything!"

Snarling, Major Force managed to tear the glue-arrow off of his face, powering another quantum surge as he did. "Wilson! Get our cover-fire on the horn!" he yelled, taking aim at Flash. "I'm taking this little punk out!"

Major Force's hand flared dark purple as the dark quantum blast raced from his fingers towards Flash, who was already in motion, pushing Victor out of the way before he darted clear. "_Dude._ You have _got_ to work on your aim," Flash quipped, as he came to a stop right next to Force. Growling with anger, Major Force unleashed a glowing backhand strike…which Flash easily ducked. "Seriously, man: get your _eyes_ checked! You couldn't hit the broad side of a..!"

Roaring, Major Force unleashed a wide-field quantum blast, gouging a crater out of the Powers' lawn and sending Flash flying. But the blast didn't stop there; it kept going, racing towards the Power family..!

His eyes wide with horror, Aelfyre reached towards them. "_NO!_" Summoning what energy he had, he engulfed them in a null-gravity field and pulled, yanking them clear of the blast, just enough so that it dissipated right in front of them…before he collapsed on the ground, his vision blurring.

Deadpool groaned as he surveyed the damage. "Great; so much for my bouncy-castle," he groused, moving towards the fallen Aelfyre. "At least I can still pick up a new – _WHOOP!_"

Reacting fast, Deadpool ducked under a blast from Cyborg's sonic cannon, as Cyborg darted ahead of him. "I don't think so, pyjama-boy."

Between the near-miss and the shot at his duds, Deadpool was _pissed._ "Okay, Patchwork: _no more Mister Nice Merc!_" Drawing his katana, Deadpool punctuated his threat with a vertical slash, which Cyborg blocked with his cybernetic arm, chipping the outer casing…and leaving his lower body unguarded. "_NUTCRUSH!_" Deadpool roared, as he fired off a low kick, forcing Cyborg to block low, at which point Deadpool unleashed a blindingly fast backspin slash; frantic, Cyborg twisted low, as the blade's edge sailed inches over his nose, evading death by the narrowest margin. But Deadpool wasn't done: spinning his momentum into a back-kick, he knocked Cyborg back, drawing his machine-gun in the same motion. "Patches, say hello to my little..!"

_Sklutch!_

"…_FUCK!_" Deadpool cursed, as Green Arrow's shot speared right through his palm, forcing him to drop his weapon. "Barty! Shots! _Any fucking time, now!_"

As Deadpool tried to pull the arrow out of his hand, Cyborg readied his sonic cannon…before a distant gunshot echoed in the distance, as something pierced his cannon, shorting it out. His eyes going wide, Cyborg darted behind the nearby car. "Arrow, we've got a sniper! Can you spot him?"

From his vantage point, Green Arrow scanned the skyline. "There's too many spots, Cyborg; I can't narrow down – _WHOA!_" His remark was cut off as he leapt out of the way of an arrow, seconds before it pierced the spot he'd been in. "Correction: we got _two_ snipers, and one of 'em's muscling in on _my_ turf!"

Cursing enough to make a sailor blush, Deadpool managed to rip the arrow out of his hand, flexing his fingers as his healing factor re-knitted his fist-bones. "Okay, now," he mused, picking up his automatic. "I think we were _just_ getting to the part where I blow your fucking brains out, Robochump!" Taking aim at Cyborg, he started to squeeze the trigger…just as a thunderclap echoed in the distance.

Deadpool's eyes widened. "Oh, son of a…"

Darting out of the sky, Superman landed in front of Cyborg, snatching Deadpool's bullet out of the air, before his eye-rays seared through the barrel of his weapon, melting it to slag and scorching Deadpool's hand. "Everything okay, Cyborg?"

Grumbling, Cyborg was trying to repair his cybernetic arm. "Peachy," he muttered. "I'd be fine if it wasn't for those darn snipers."

Superman nodded. "Leave them to Aly, man; we'll handle the chumps on the ground."

Blowing on his singed fingers, Deadpool gulped. "Uh…okay, Zmeckster? Gonna need a new plan, here…"

"Speak for yourself, Wilson!" Major Force boomed, stomping towards Superman. "I gotta _bone_ to pick with this rotten little draft-dodger!" With a roar of anger, Force let loose another dark quantum blast, which took Superman full in the chest, leaving him woozy and giving Force enough time to grab him and slam him to the ground with a suplex.

Landing hard on his head, Superman was briefly dazed, but recovered in time to roll clear of Force's boot-stomp, coming back up on his feet. "And you are..?"

"A _real_ hero, you smarmy _punk!_" Force snarled, charging at him with a quantum-charged haymaker. This time, however, Superman was ready – leaning out of the path of the Major's fist, he grabbed Force and whirled him around, before tossing him straight up into the air for fifty feet…to land flat on his back, seconds later.

While Superman dealt with Major Force, Green Arrow had been trying to get a clear shot at Deadpool, only to be forced back behind cover by a barrage of bullets and arrows. As a final arrow lanced towards Green Arrow's feet, it was intercepted by a wall of golden light, as Power Girl landed in front of her teammate, her eyes flaring blue as she scanned the horizon, spotting two heat-signatures in the distance. "Okay, Arrow: your copycat is to the west, on a rooftop about a mile away!" she reported, before looking away. "The other guy is…is…"

Her eyes went wide. "Holy crap – he's _ten_ miles away!" she exclaimed. "He's…he's got some kinda cybernetic eye; that must be how he targets…but how the _hell_ could he make those kind of shots..?"

"Worry about that later, Diva!" Green Arrow interrupted, readying an arrow. "You take the long-distance guy; the copycat's _mine!_" With that, he leapt out from behind his cover, rolling to the side and letting his shot fly; unfortunately, said copycat – a man in a black sneak-suit and an armored vest, wielding a similar longbow – must have had the same idea, rolling to the side and loosing another arrow, which met Green Arrow's shot dead-on, piercing its head and triggering its net, sending both projectiles spinning to the ground. Seeing the long-range marksman ready another shot, Power Girl took aim as best she could, and let loose an eye-ray, which lanced across the skyline…and sliced through the chimney just to his left. Quietly cursing her lousy aim, Power Girl took to the air, racing through the sky towards the gunman…only to find the rooftop he'd been using completely empty.

He'd gotten away.

With Superman briefly distracted, Deadpool started to inch towards the fallen Aelfyre. '_Brother, so much for a simple grab-job…CRAP!_' Quickly, he aimed his automatics at the recovered Flash, who was racing towards him at top speed; suppressing panic, he squeezed off several shots…which the Scarlet Speedster easily evaded. With a low snarl, he aimed wider, and unloaded a full spray, which also missed. "_Aw, come ON!_"

Ducking low, Flash rolled the motion into a sliding kick, slamming Deadpool in the chest and knocking him back into the nearby house wall. "Looks like you need to work on your aim, Wilson."

As his ribs started to knit back together, Wade dragged himself to his feet, as he got an idea. "Way I see it, Quick-Draw, my aim's just _fine._" With that, he raised his automatic…and pointed it at the still-dazed Power family.

Flash was horrified. "_NO!_" By the time his shout echoed, he was already in motion, racing to throw himself between Deadpool's gun and his target…

_Bang!_

Deadpool's shot was true, piercing Flash's leg and sending him falling to the ground just as he'd pushed the Power family clear. "Oh yeah!" Deadpool exclaimed. "_Called_ it!"

From his vantage point, Green Arrow saw his teammate fall. Loading another arrow, he tried to get a clean shot at Deadpool, but the other archer forced him back behind cover with several shots of his own. "Superman! _Man down!_"

Turning, Superman quickly saw Flash lying on the ground, and moved to intercept Deadpool…but he was stopped by a metal hand grabbing his shoulder. "We are _NOT_ finished, you little snot!"

The recovered Major Force quickly punctuated his roar by throwing Superman clear across the block, where he crashed into the asphalt, skidding several times before coming back up onto his feet, while Force launched himself into a quantum-powered leap, landing a few feet away, cratering the concrete as he landed. Eyes narrowed, Superman readied himself. "And what exactly is your problem with me, pal?"

"Letting an alien dictator loose? Dereliction of duty? Costing this country a _decisive_ tactical advantage with that space-weapon? Take your pick!" Major Force finished his tirade by firing another dark-energy surge, but Superman darted skyward, evading the shot. Not about to let his quarry escape, Force launched himself into the air at Superman, slamming him with a quantum uppercut. Superman stumbled back, but recovered in time to block Force's follow-up punch, countering with a lightning-fast flurry, which he shifted into a neck-grab that let him yank the Major in close for a knee-kick right to the chin, stunning him enough to finish him with an eye-surge that sent him falling to the ground.

With Flash downed and Cyborg incapacitated, Deadpool strolled towards the injured Aelfyre, but a glint of metal from the Powers' car caught his eye. Curious, he walked over to the open trunk, to look inside. "Well, whaddya know! I just might get my bouncy-castle after all!" He switched on his communicator. "Wile E. Coyote calling ACME Corporation: I'd like to place a pick-up order, and it'll be a little bigger than expected! I've got a down-payment, and it's kinda hefty, so I'll be bringing a couple hired hands!" He scowled at the airborne Superman. "I've also got a roadrunner problem, so bring the exterminator, will ya? Over!" He switched his communicator off. "Zmeckster! Barty! We're buggin' out!"

"The _hell_ we are!" Major Force boomed, getting back on his feet. "We're not pulling out until this little traitor's dealt with!"

"Wise up, Zmeck! We got most of what we came for, plus a little bonus!" Deadpool shot back. "Right now, we got evac coming, plus pest control! We can salvage this, as long as nobody fucks it up! Now _give us some fucking cover-fire!_"

Just as Deadpool spoke, two black silenced helicopters appeared on the skyline, making a beeline for the Power residence, at the same time that two black vans pulled up in front of the house. The choppers acted first, firing two missiles that burst in mid-flight, dispersing a cloud of smoke over the residence that sent the Power family into a coughing fit. With cover supplied, the team of black-clad goons that spilled from the vans had the perfect chance to grab the Admiral, the confused family, and the device in the trunk, leading them towards the vans.

Spotting the attempted kidnapping, Superman darted towards the vans, but the chopper-pilots had anticipated his move. Locking onto him, they fired off a barrage of missiles, forcing him to detonate them early with a precision eye-ray, which gave Force an opening to blast him in the back with another dark-energy blast. "_Now!_ Hit him with everything you've got!" Obeying Force's order, the choppers unloaded on Superman, blasting him with missiles, vulcan-cannons, and incendiary rounds, all of which sent him crashing into a vacant lot.

Getting back on his feet, Cyborg raced to intercept the goons taking the Powers away, but one drew a revolver, opening up on him and forcing him to duck. Rolling behind cover, Victor frantically futzed with his damaged arm. '_Come on, come on, tell me I've still got…YES!_' As the vans started to pull out, Cyborg took aim, and fired. His shot rang true, pinging against the bumper of the second van.

Smirking behind his mask, Deadpool holstered his weapon. "Well, chumps, it's been real!" he chortled. "As much fun as it'd be to stick around, I don't get paid by the hour!" Waving to one chopper, he reached for the cable it was lowering. "See you in the next action-scene! Always tip your waitress!" Once Deadpool was airborne, Major Force wasn't far behind, launching himself into the sky after the choppers, while the black-clad archer slipped into the shadows, disappearing after his comrades.

With their attackers gone, Cyborg raced to the groaning Flash's side, ripping a length of cloth from his sweater to use as a tourniquet on Flash's leg. "Just hang in there, man – we'll get you out of here in a second!"

Flash winced. "Hey, no rush, Vic; I'm pretty sure it didn't hit anything major," he wheezed. "How about Big Blue? That tin-can guy smacked him kinda hard, there."

Right as he'd spoken, Power Girl flew back into earshot, touching down, her expression horrified. "Flash, what _happened?_"

Flash stiffened as he tried to move his leg, realizing how majorly stupid an idea that was. "Word of advice: never assume Wade Wilson won't shoot at civilians."

Power Girl frowned. "Got it."

Retracting and stowing his bow, Green Arrow hopped down from his perch. "Any luck with our other marksman?"

Alison shook her head. "I tried to fry his weapon, but making a ten-mile shot is still a bit much for me. By the time I got there, he'd bailed." She looked worried. "Is Kal..?"

Another groan echoed from the vacant lot as Superman dug himself out of the crater he'd been blasted into. "Ugh, and I thought taking a dip in Gotham Harbour was – _Flash!_" His nausea gave way to alarm as he rushed to his wounded teammate's side, switching on his communicator. "Superman calling Watchtower: we need medical e-vac, pronto! Flash is down!"

Sentrius' all-too-calm voice answered him. "_Understood, Commander. Has the Admiral been secured?_"

Superman sighed. "Not by us," he muttered. "Apparently, we weren't the only ones looking for him. We were just ambushed by some kind of special-ops team…lead by Deadpool, apparently."

Sentries paused for a half-second to access her updated records. "_This is most disconcerting, Commander. Given the circumstances, it would be prudent to commence a planet-wide search to re-establish a lock on the Admiral._"

Cyborg grinned. "Don't bother, lady; already on it!" he said. "Captain Crack-shot may have fried my arm-cannon, but he didn't take out my tracking-bug! I tapped one of those vans with a beacon before it drove off!" He held up his sparking arm, showing a computer-map of the city, with a red dot moving through it, heading out of town. "The second they set up shop, we can nail 'em."

Superman grinned. "Good thinking, Vic," he said. "Sentrius, hail as many of the others as are available. We're going to need reinforcements; these new guys are no slouches."

"_Affirmative, Commander._"

Green Arrow raised a hand. "As much as I hate to rain on our collective parade, that's only _half_ the problem," he said. "Cyborg, didn't you report that there was _another_ bogey after the Admiral? Because I only saw those guys take the Admiral."

Looking around, Cyborg's eyes went wide as he realized that the black-coated Gordanian was gone, too. "What the…he was just here!"

Green Arrow put his hand to his forehead. "He probably snuck off while we were dealing with Wilson and his flunkies."

Superman nodded. "Yeah, but that's not the big question: where'd he _go?_"

XXXXXXXX

_Undisclosed location_

The setting sun had already turned the sky pinkish by the time the black vans rolled through the gates of the secret government facility, while the stealth choppers touched down on the landing-pad. The pilots promptly disembarked, moving to assist the grab-teams as they hustled the bewildered family into the main complex, and the wounded alien into the holding-facility…

…which meant that no-one was watching the choppers – specifically, the choppers' ventral hulls.

Mentally dispelling his biosuit's optical camouflage, turning the artificial skin back from grey to fluid black, Commander Sn'rth of the Gordanian Armada slunk across the compound towards the walls of the main complex, his suit's adhesive fingertips easily letting him scale the walls. Once he was on top, he ducked out of sight, as his mind raced. He had to find some way to silence that blasted Kymellian before he talked…

'_**The ventilation shaft; we can access the entire facility from there.**_'

Suppressing a mild hiss of disgust, Sn'rth forced that foreign thought away. '_Blasted bio-engineers – they were supposed to have handled this suit's personification issues._' Focusing, he crept to the shaft, and extended one claw through the grate. The second he did, the bio-suit extended a long, gooey tendril through the grate, creeping and stretching through the shaft, bringing his senses with it, letting him scout the entire facility…

"Alex, what's going on? What'd those guys do with Admiral Horsey?"

Sn'rth scowled to himself as the four human brats came into view through one grate. "I don't know, Katie," the eldest male replied. "We just have to sit tight, for now."

The other male gulped. "Alex, don't you even _watch_ spy movies? This is right at the part where the bad-guys drag the hero and sidekicks out of prison, rattle off their evil plan, and then show them exactly how they're gonna do the hero in!"

The adolescent female rolled her eyes. "Then you've got nothing to worry about, Jack."

As the younger male sputtered angrily, Sn'rth rolled his eyes, sending his bio-probe further down the shaft, until a familiar voice caught his attention. "We ain't gonna ask you again, Hooves."

Intrigued, Sn'rth inched his probe to the nearest grate, through which he spotted the masked human and his metallized cohort…with the Kymellian sitting at an interrogation table, looking rather worse for wear. "How many more times must I repeat it?" the Kymellian insisted. "I was in command of a training-vessel which followed a Gordanian slave-ship through a blind step-through jump! I was aboard that vessel to render assistance to any survivors when it crashed!"

The metal man snorted. "Yeah, and I'm Queen Elizabeth," he scoffed. "If you're here by accident, why do you speak perfect English? Only someone who'd been doing recon on Earth for months could pull that off."

The Kymellian winced, his eyes scrunched. "Not if they had a Universal Translator!" he retorted. "There is no invasion here, fool! You must release me! I have important information to deliver to Sentrius' Commander!"

The masked human groaned. "Bad move, Hooves – for Zmeckster, Supes is a _real_ touchy subject."

"Can it, Wilson," the metal man snapped. "So, you're pals with the Kryptonian, huh? That's a pretty damn big coincidence, if you ask me."

Sn'rth suppressed a snarl. He'd gotten here just in time; if the Kymellian told anyone of his people's plan..!

The masked human chuckled. "Save it, Zmecky; even if Hooves here wasn't pals with Supes, he's not gonna flip for your sweet-talking. Better to hold out 'till Waller gets done with Doctor P and his kids."

The Kymellian paused. "What? You…you apprehended the children?" he exclaimed. "Why? They did you no harm!"

The masked man shrugged. "Eh. The author decided to revamp part of the classic storyline on how those kids get involved."

The Kymellian blinked. "What does that mean?"

"Damned if I know, Hooves," the metal man groused. "Better worry about yourself; if that Doc's smart, he'll cooperate with his research."

Sn'rth had heard enough. Mapping the path to that chamber, he was about to recall his probe, but his bio-suit interrupted. '_**Wait. We should investigate this.**_'

Sn'rth mentally snarled. '_The Kymellian is the objective! He must be taken out!_'

'_**You can deal with him later. Right now, that other human has this group just as concerned about him as they are about the Kymellian…and that is worth investigating.**_'

The logic of that stalled Sn'rth's fury. '_Very well. Two minutes, but no more._' With that, he directed his probe elsewhere, scanning the innards of the facility…until he hit pay-dirt.

"You've no right to keep us here!"

Following that female shout, Sn'rth's probe peered through another grate, where the brats' parents sat across from an older, uniformed human male, and a violet-clad, short, heavyset, dark-hued female. "Mrs. Power, no-one's holding you here," the short female soothed. "You and your children had come in contact with an extraterrestrial being; we apprehended you as part of standard quarantine procedure. We've just gotten the bio-scan readings back, and you're all clean – you can leave whenever you wish."

The other female folded her arms. "Then why are we still here?"

"We have a little business proposition for your husband," the uniformed male said. "Doc, your university project's getting low on funds, right?"

Doctor Power blinked. "How did you..?"

"Once we realized who you were, we looked you up," the short female explained. "Very interesting stuff; you're trying to study the conditions leading up to the Big Bang, correct?"

Doctor Power started to smile. "Yes! Exactly! Our team had even developed a miniature supercollider that could produce the needed collisions at a fraction of the cost!" His smile drooped. "Storing our prototype in the trunk probably wasn't the best idea…"

The suited female smiled. "Normally, no, Doctor, but in this case, it was," she said. "With your permission, we'd like to fund your research."

Doctor Power's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "R-Really?" he exclaimed. "That's…that's wonderful..!"

Mrs. Power wasn't sold. "And what's the catch?"

The uniformed male smirked. "Way I see it, that gizmo gives off antimatter as a by-product."

Doctor Power blinked. "For several seconds, antimatter is created, yes," he said. "It exists for several fractions of a second before it contacts normal matter and is annihilated."

"Think you could find a way to collect it before that happens?"

Mrs. Power folded her arms. "Why?"

"Missy, in case you didn't notice, this whole damn planet's got a Big-Bang-shooting _gun_ aimed at it. I figure the guy aiming it'll be a lot less likely to pull the trigger if he sees _we've_ got one, too."

Doctor Power froze. "You…want to _weaponize_ our research..?"

"That's only _one_ option, Doctor," the suited female corrected. "From what _I_ could tell, antimatter offers a potentially limitless way of producing cheap, clean energy; if you and your colleagues agree, we could have a corner on the next green-energy mega-project. America's dependence on fossil-fuels could end _overnight._"

Doctor Power was silent at that revelation, which made his mate anxious. "James…"

"I can tell you need some time to think about this," the suited female said. "Right now, the two of us were going to have your kids released and sent up here; after that, we can discuss this further."

Quickly, Sn'rth partially retracted his probe, his mind racing at what that human had just articulated. The Power human's device, if modified, could be used to power weapons capable of rivalling even _Sentrius._

His people's own project could have just been rendered moot, if he could secure the human…but how? He needed some way of getting to the human and escaping before anyone could stop him…

"So did you two get anything out of that alien?"

Drawn by two new voices, Sn'rth guided his probe to another grate, where the masked and metal humans were below, talking to two others: one clad in black, with a long-bow and quiver, and the other in a long trenchcoat, with an armoured bodysuit under it, and one eye replaced by an electronic prosthesis. "Nah; Zmecky here went all Bad Cop on me!" the masked human complained. "You all know I make a crappy Good Cop!"

The metal man rolled his eyes. "Hear anything from the higher-ups, Deadshot?"

The one-eyed human shook his head. "Negative, Force; Waller and Ross are still talking with the doc and his missus."

The metal man folded his arms. "What's the holdup? We caught their kids harboring an E.T., dead to rights!"

The masked man laughed. "Oh, come on, Zmeckster: the pigtailed kid probably took one look at Hooves and thought "My Little Pony!""

The archer looked uneasy. "Wilson's crackpot ideas aside, Zmeck, we're not supposed to be blackmailing U.S. citizens with their kids. Isn't the idea of this whole organization about _protecting_ this country from alien hostiles?"

"Yeah, Barton…and we can't do it if we have to deal with bleeding-hearts not willing to man up and do their _duty!_"

The masked man was still chortling. "You realize you're talking to a guy who's read too much "Last of the Mohicans," right, Zmecky?" he asked. "Why else would he take a callsign like "Hawkeye"?"

The archer snorted. "Says the guy who's modeled himself after some Vietnam burnout."

The masked man was instantly irate. "_You shut your fucking mouth, Barton!_" he exploded. "_Slade Wilson is the biggest badass EVER! We're talking Chuck-Norris-class, here! Punks like you should be thankful to even be mentioned in the same BREATH..!_"

"Okay, Wilson! We get it!" Deadshot yelled. "No more smack-talk on Deathstroke; we get the idea!"

The masked human started to calm. "Good."

The metal man looked around. "So once we get the doc on board, we're buggin' out of here, right?" he asked. "'Cause if Fury gets wind of us holed up in one of his spaceship-bunkers, we're screwed."

The masked man looked petulant. "I still say we oughtta borrow one of these things. It's not like Fury'll miss just one – they've been droppin' like flies ever since Supes' pet battlestation put the smack to those Kree and Skrull guys!"

Sn'rth needed no more than that, quickly withdrawing his probe. This facility was a storehouse for salvaged Kree and Skrull technology, including ships.

And he had access to a human device capable of generating antimatter power. All he needed to do was retrieve it, get to a ship, install it, fly out, and jump clear before Sentrius had a chance to lock onto him.

With a serpentine smirk, Sn'rth pried open the grate, and slunk iinside, re-tracing his probe's path. His operation's goal had been to gain a decisive tactical advantage over Thanagar…

…and now, one was within his reach.

XXXXXXXX

_Xavier Institute_

It hadn't taken long for Clarice to hide herself away while Kara had started telling Koriand'r about the Dheronians.

Sitting in a back-corner of the big jet in the lower levels – the Blackbird, she thought she'd heard someone call it – Clarice hugged herself, still trying to calm her anxious thoughts. She felt bad for running away, after the others had been so nice, but standing there with everyone watching her had just been too much.

Besides, hearing about the shadowy invaders that had killed _Superman's_ people reminded her _way_ too much of Sinister.

The very thought of her former tormentor made tears come to Clarice's eyes, causing her to rub the injection-scar on her neck. Wincing at the sting that always came with touching it, Clarice huddled deeper into herself. At this rate, she doubted if the memories would _ever_ go away…

"Finally, we got a mission!"

Her eyes wide with alarm, Clarice pushed herself all the way into the shadows as footsteps echoed through the boarding-ramp, before Cyclops, Robin, Koriand'r, Armor, Black Canary, and Mimic all boarded the Blackbird. "I wouldn't get too excited just yet, Rudy," Cyclops warned, sitting in the pilot's seat. "Judging from what Sentrius warned us about, we need to be on our toes."

Grinning, Mimic leaned back in his seat…which was just in front of Clarice's hiding-spot. "Aw, you worry too much, Summers."

Black Canary glared at him as the Blackbird's engine roared, pushing the stealth-plane into the air once its hatch closed. "And you're not worried enough, Jones."

Mildly perplexed, Armor raised her hand. "Scott-san? Sentrius-_taichou_ mentioned that this mission was about the occupants of the ship that crashed," she wondered. "Did she say what had happened, exactly?"

"I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, Hisako, but from what I gathered, an unknown black-ops squad intercepted and took Admiral Whitemane before Superman and the others could reach him," Cyclops answered. "Hopefully, we can get an update on that, on the way over."

In the co-pilot's seat, Robin looked annoyed. "Did we have to bring _her?_" he asked, thumbing at Koriand'r.

Recognizing his intent – and annoyance – the Tamaranian bristled. "I will _not_ abandon the one that saved me to so horrid a fate!"

Switching on the Blackbird's radio, Cyclops opened a channel. "Blackbird calling Watchtower: we are en route and requesting situation report. Over."

Batman's dour voice answered him. "_This is Watchtower, Blackbird. Superman, Power Girl, Cyborg, and Green Arrow have tracked the abductors to a facility in the New York countryside; Hawkgirl and Spider-Man are also en route. Be advised: a civilian family has been abducted with the Admiral, reasons unknown._"

Cyclops nodded. "Understood, Batman. Any leads on who we're dealing with?"

The Blackbird's view-screen switched on, as the Dark Knight forwarded two files to them. "_Only two have been identified: one is Wade "Deadpool" Wilson,_" he said. "_Wilson possesses a healing factor of similar type to Wolverine, and has undergone extensive paramilitary training of unknown origins, including hand-to-hand, sword-training, and marksmanship. He is highly dangerous, and highly psychotic._"

Black Canary arched an eyebrow. "How nuts are we talking, here?"

Batman's tone was deadpan. "_The only criminal with comparable psychoses is the Joker._"

Mimic winced. "Yikes."

The second profile became visible. "_The other description is consistent with Floyd Lawton, a.k.a. Deadshot. Like Wilson, Lawton has a paramilitary background, though his training was mostly sniper-based; prior to going rogue, he had the highest recorded kill-ratio of his unit. After hiring himself out as an assassin, Deadshot had himself fitted for an optical implant that serves as an onboard, computer-guided sniper-scope: with that prosthesis, Lawton can fire any shot from almost any distance, and hit with almost perfect accuracy._"

"So we'll need either Superman or Power Girl to block his shots until we can get close enough for a takedown," Robin observed. "And we have no hits on the others?"

"_We have one potential lead: prior to disengaging, Deadpool referred to one of his cohorts as "Zmeck,"_" Batman answered. "_Combined with a rant he sent at Superman suggesting his military background, our most likely suspect is Clifford Zmeck, ex-U.S. Army Sergeant, dishonourable discharge; his record shows his last operation led to excessive loss of civilian life during his last tour of duty in Afghanistan. He was court-martialed and jailed up until 2007…and then he disappears._"

"So, two highly-trained assassins, and one potential Army washout that we know about," Cyclops muttered. "Great."

Several minutes later, Clarice felt the Blackbird slow its flight, silently touching down. Remaining still, she watched the others file out of the cockpit – once the coast was clear, she inched out of her hiding-spot, and crept to the exit-hatch, peering around the corner to listen.

The Blackbird had touched down on a cliff next to two Javelins, overlooking a two-mile-long facility several miles in the distance, surrounded by woods. Superman was at the cliff's edge, his eyes narrowed as he peered at the facility. "Okay, I'm seeing one main level above ground, and several sub-levels below ground," he reported. "The top level appears to be just for show – most of the activity is going on underground."

"Sounds like a standard M.O.," Cyclops mused. "What are our options for entry?"

Superman winced. "Limited. I'm seeing multiple overlapping patrols, all operating on a clockwise-counterclockwise rotation," he answered. "Aly and I could buzz the top level and try to draw them out…"

"…but if whoever's running the show is going dark, that'd just spook 'em and make 'em run, probably taking the Admiral and the Power family with 'em," Robin finished. "Plus the fact that we'd end up setting off a crapload of alarms trying to get to the lower levels."

Power Girl sighed. "Great."

Hawkgirl looked incensed. "Have you spotted the Gordanian, nearby?"

Taking a second look with his thermal vision, Superman shook his head. "No dice, Hawkgirl. Either he's not around, or the bio-augmentation he's using is masking his heat-signature."

"Assuming he gave off much of one," Spider-Man interjected. "'Cause, you know, lizards are cold-blooded, so I'm assuming space-lizards are, too."

Koriand'r looked perplexed. "Surely such fortifications would have secretive entrances in case of emergencies?"

Cyborg shook his head. "Nothing we've seen yet, Red," he answered. "Unless somebody here can make back-doors out of thin air, we're goin' in the hard way."

Mimic groaned. "And we can't get Nightcrawler or Leap back here, anytime soon?"

"Wouldn't work: Kurt and Lila both need line-of-sight in order to teleport," Green Arrow replied. "He's out."

At those last remarks, Clarice went dead-still, her eyes wide as her memories took hold of her…

_She was running across a steel floor, crying as lasers shot at her, tripping and scrambling back to her feet before dashing to the safe-spot in the middle…and screaming with anguished frustration as glass walls slammed down to block her. "P-Please, Sinister, I want to stop! I can't do this, anymore..!"_

"_If you want to finish, Blink, you're going to have to use your portals."_

_Clarice whimpered. "I-I can't..!" she wailed, but her cry turned into a scream as she bolted around the corner to dodge another round of fire. Looking ahead, she saw more laser-turrets pop up, taking aim at her heart…_

_Pure desperation gave her a strength she didn't know she had. Frantically clawing at the air, she ripped a violet hole in space, just enough for her to run through. Leaping into the portal, she landed inside the safe-zone, curling up into a ball as she sobbed, waiting for the end…_

"_Simulation complete."_

_As the test-chamber powered down, Clarice tried to calm herself, but failed miserably once she heard that voice. "Wonderful, Blink. You did very well, today: a full minute faster than last time. Here's your reward."_

_At Sinister's words, a panel opened up in the floor in front of her, as a bowl of cereal rose up from it. Clarice was ashamed, but she couldn't help it: she was so hungry. Scrambling to the bowl, she started wolfing it down, freezing only at Sinister's next words. "Let's try to be just a little faster tomorrow, shall we?"_

…and then she was back in the moment, mildly hyperventilating. If the others realized that she was here, and that she didn't do anything, they would…they might..!

She'd stepped forward before she'd even realized it. "I can help."

Startled, everyone all turned to face her. "Clarice?" Cyclops asked. "When did…how did you..?"

"I-I can get you all inside!" Clarice insisted. "I don't need to see where I'm going, so I can do it!"

Armour looked worried. "Clarice-san, you do not have to…"

"I do it all the time! Watch!" Concentrating hard, Clarice started to probe with her ability, searching for a spot to connect to. Once she found it, she reached out, her hands glowing as she poked her fingers into thin air…and pulling the air apart, opening a violet-rimmed hole in space, leading into a metal corridor. "H-Hurry!"

Superman wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Okay, guys, you heard her! Everyone through!" Quickly, the entire team raced through the open portal, emerging in the corridor, with Clarice being the last through, releasing her focus once she was in, letting the hole close.

With everyone safely through, Clarice dropped to her knees, gasping for breath. "S-See?" she puffed. "I told you I could do it!"

Superman smiled. "Thank you, Clarice – you may have just saved the Power family's lives, today." Turning to the others, he added, "Okay, guys, we're going to need a floor-plan. Cyborg, is your arm in good enough condition to hack this place's map?"

Looking over his arm, Cyborg shrugged. "Unless they're completely anal-retentive about security, I should be okay," he said. "Just don't expect me to get off too many shots with my sonics."

"Fair enough; you, Aly, Robin, Mimic, Koriand'r, Canary, Clarice, and Cyclops will head to the nearest terminal. Once you've hacked the map, you should be able to locate the Power family," Superman said. "The rest of us will get the Admiral: I can make out his vital signs from here."

Mimic blinked. "How?"

"Kymellians have a _six_-chambered heart, Jones. Human hearts just have four," Hawkgirl said.

"Oh."

Superman spoke again. "Be careful, guys: we're dealing with two professional marksmen. If somebody starts taking shots at you from a distance, either take cover or put up a barrier."

"And what about you? That "Major Force" guy's dark quantum blasts – your words – were hitting you pretty hard!" Power Girl said. "What if _he_ corners you?"

Superman tapped his belt. "There's a good chance my nano-suit can take those shots, Aly…or at least blunt them enough for me to take him down."

Power Girl folded her arms. "But you're not sure."

Spider-Man spoke up. "Hey, Diva, who's sure of _anything_ in this business?" he quipped. "Can we get moving, now? Because if anybody's watched sci-fi movies, the odds of getting jumped by aliens goes up exponentially the longer the heroes are alone in corridors like these!"

Cyclops chuckled. "Movie-trivia aside, Spider-Man's right: we need to get moving." Nobody argued that point, as they split into their two groups, heading in opposite directions deeper into the complex.

XXXXXXXX

_A few minutes earlier_

"Alex, can you see anything?"

Glancing back at Katie, Alex shook his head. "Not a thing, Katie."

Julie was irate. "This sucks! We didn't _do_ anything!"

Moving next to his brother, Jack tried to jump high enough to look out of their cell. "They're _bad guys_, Julie. They don't care." After a few unsuccessful jumps, he gave up. "You'd think they'd have stopped to run off their plan, by now, though…"

Spotting movement, Alex backed away. "Careful what you wish for, Jack!" he warned, just as two armed, black-clad men opened the door, keeping their weapons trained on them, while two more roughly tossed Aelfyre into the cell.

Katie ran to Aelfyre's side, horrified. "_Admiral Horsey!_"

With a deep breath, Alex faced their captors. "What's going on? What do you want?"

The lead gunman snorted. "Right now, we want you to keep quiet, brat," he snapped. "Just sit there and play nice until we're all done." With that, he slammed the door shut.

Julie was furious. "Let us _out_ of here, you creeps! You can't just keep us here!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Pretty sure they can, Jules…"

"_Guys!_" Katie cried. "Admiral Horsey's _hurt!_ We gotta _do_ something!"

Groaning, Aelfyre propped himself up on his elbows, sitting upright. "I will manage, child," he coughed. "What of all of you? Were you harmed?"

Alex shook his head. "No, sir. They just tossed us in here. The only time we saw anybody was when…well, when they dropped you in here."

Aelfyre looked worried. "They posed no questions to you regarding me?"

"Nope," Katie said.

Aelfyre's wary expression grew. "Then they must be holding your family for some other reason," he mused. "Are either of your parents privy to some secret research?"

Jack snorted. "Yeah, like Dad's cool enough to be working on some government secret project. All he's got is that prototype thing he had in his car."

Aelfyre's eyes narrowed. "What "thing," child?"

Katie shrugged. "I dunno; all Dad said was something about anti-matter."

Aelfyre's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "_WHAT?_"

Katie blinked. "Is that bad?"

"Child, if misused, such technology could obliterate the entire _planet!_" Aelfyre cried. "And if the leaders of this organization would employ such madmen, the potential for misuse is near _incalculable!_"

All four Power children were silent, until Jack spoke. "So…that's a "yes"?"

Gritting his teeth, Aelfyre tried to stand, only to fall back on his butt. "Children, _you_ must stop this."

Julie was aghast. "Admiral, are you _nuts?_ We're just kids!"

"Loathe though I am to place you in danger, there is no choice," Aelfyre continued. "If I do not act, your world could be destroyed."

""Act"? Dude, we're all locked up!" Jack said. "There's nothing we _can_ do!"

"As it stands, no," Aelfyre agreed, "but if I impart some of my powers to all of you, you stand a chance."

Katie's eyes went wide. "Huh?"

Alex was just as dumbfounded. "You can do that?"

"It was how _my_ people came to possess these abilities," Aelfyre said. "Aeons ago, my people were once deaf to our world's anguished screams, just as yours are now. Fortunately, we realized our folly, and developed cleaner technologies, initiatives to return what we had taken from Kymellia." He smiled, as he started to glow. "In the following years, we began to develop unusual abilities: mastery over gravity, travel over land and through air as swiftly as light, control over our mass, and the power to absorb and redirect energy – all of which defied evolutionary explanation. It was as though Kymellia herself – grateful that we had saved her – was thanking us."

Katie started to smile. "It sounds like magic!"

Aelfyre chuckled. "And perhaps it is," he answered. "And now, just as they were given to my people for saving our world, I give them to you, to save yours." As he spoke, his glow turned brilliant, expanding to fill the entire room…

…and when the light faded, the four Power siblings were now clad in skintight spacesuits of similar style to Aelfyre's, with Alex clad in silver, Julie in red, Jack in blue, and Katie in yellow. Alex was dumbstruck. "W-What the..?"

Jack was more enthused. "_Awesome!_ We're superheroes!" he cheered. "What powers did you give us? C'mon, spill!"

"I but imparted each of my abilities to each of you," Aelfyre replied. He looked to Alex. "To you, young man, I gave the ability to control gravity."

Alex looked at his hands. "So…I can go zero-g?"

Aelfyre nodded, before turning to Julie. "Young lady, my people's swiftness is now yours to command."

Julie started to smile. "Light-speed, huh?"

Aelfyre looked to Jack. "Your power, lad, is that of your own mass: to disperse your density to that of a cloud, or concentrate it to a pinprick."

Jack grinned, as he flexed his arms. "Oh yeah! Call me the Mass Master, guys!"

With a warm smile, Aelfyre looked to Katie. "And to you, little one, I grant perhaps the most potent of all my people's gifts: the power to absorb and wield any energy cast against you."

Katie was ecstatic. "Awesome!" she exclaimed, as she darted to the door. "Stand back, guys! I'll blast us out of here!" With that, she aimed her hands at the door…

…and nothing happened.

As Katie pouted, Jack burst out laughing, while Alex suppressed a guilty grin. "Sorry, Little Miss Energizer, but from what the Admiral said, your powers need to be charged up – batteries _aren't_ included."

Katie folded her arms. "Phooey."

Julie turned back to Aelfyre. "So how do these powers work?"

"To explain every nuance and technique would take more time than I believe we have, child," Aelfyre admitted. "The best I can do now is tell you that each ability works best when you are clear and focused."

Jack frowned. "That's it?"

"It's more than we had, Jack," Alex admonished. "Okay, then: how do we get out of here?"

Julie chewed her lip. "That door doesn't look all that high-tech. It probably opens from the outside."

Alex got an idea. "Wait…Jack, you can turn into gas, so you can get out from under the door!"

Jack grinned. "On it!" he declared, as he scrunched his eyes, concentrating. "Okay…_hrrrgg_…that's not it…_oooggg_…nope…_hnnnn…_hey, I think I..!"

_POOOOOOOOOT!_

Jack's smile faded as his rear trumpeted thunderously. Aghast, Katie plugged her nose. "_EEEEEEWWWWWWWW!_"

Julie went green. "Jack, that's _disgusting!_"

Alex waved his hand to waft away the fumes. "_How_ many bowls of beans did you have?"

Jack sulked. "So I tried to do that stunt on my own, and I needed to generate some gas for it! Sue me!"

Alex stopped. "Uh, Jack?"

Jack kept going. "I don't see you guys doing anything to try and best out!"

"Jack?"

"Maybe it'd be different if we got a user's manual with these powers..!"

"_JACK!_" Alex shouted. "Look at yourself!"

"Huh?" Confused, Jack looked down…and grinned as he found a vaporous cloud where his body had been, with his head in the center. "Awesome! I was just thinking about gas, and this happened!" he exclaimed. "Guys, check me out..!"

"Okay, okay, Gas Master – you're awesome! We get it!" Alex said. "Now can you get us _out_ of here?"

Jack frowned. "Sure, and it's _Mass_ Master." With that, Jack wafted under the door, his gaseous form flowing easily through the cracks, to emerge behind it. Seconds later, the door opened, revealing a now solid-state Jack. "Ta-da!"

Julie smiled. "Guess you _can_ do something right, after all."

"Hey!"

Alex sighed. "Julie. Not now." Moving to Aelfyre's side, he looped the Admiral's arm over his shoulder, helping him walk out. "Any ideas on what to do next, sir?"

Aelfyre looked stricken. "For one, you should not waste time with me!" he insisted. "I will only slow you down, and time is of the essence!"

Alex frowned. "We're _not_ just gonna ditch you, Admiral…"

"What are you brats doing?"

Grimacing, Alex spotted four armed guards emerging into the main corridor ahead of them. "Aw, crap."

The lead guard drew his weapon. "Frank, get reinforcements down here: the ET's loose!"

Seeing one guard start to take out his communicator, Alex thought fast. "Julie, once the first guy's down, grab that walkie-talkie! If he gets a message out, we're toast!" he said. "Jack, we'll need you to do the opposite of what you just did to gas out: you're the bullet, and I'm the gun!"

Jack scrunched his eyes. "Okay, okay…shrinking, shrinking…getting smaller…" he muttered, as he started to shrink, his mass concentrating into its most compact form, until an inch-sized Jack remained. "How's this?"

"Perfect!" Alex declared, as he shut his eyes. '_Okay, clear and focused…make Jack weightless…cancel out his gravity…_'

"Whoa!" Jack exclaimed, as he started to float, carried by a white-black aura. "Alex, whatever you're doing, it's working!"

"Good!" Alex said. "Now make like a cannonball!" With that, he focused on the armed guard, which sent his brother rocketing towards him, smashing into his target's chest with the force of a wrecking-ball, sending him crashing into another soldier, knocking them both out.

Her path cleared, Julie raced towards the guard about to call for help, focusing on moving as fast as she could – her feet lifted right off the ground as she _flew_ at him, her path leaving a glittery rainbow-trail behind her. The guard was dumbfounded at the sight, momentarily forgetting his call, until Julie was inches away. "Command, we have a situation..!"

Stricken, Julie's focus wavered, which removed her ability to brake – her momentum crashed her into the guard, which knocked him back into his comrade, knocking them both out and leaving her bruised. "_Ow._"

Equally dazed, Jack returned to normal size, his steps wobbly. "I hear that."

Alex looked worried. "Julie, did any of them get a signal off?"

Julie steadied herself. "One was about to, but I'm pretty sure I got to him before…"

"What the hell?" came the irate shout of the metal man – Major Force – as he and a black-clad bow-wielding agent emerged from another corridor.

Jack gulped. "You were saying?"

The bow-wielder had already nocked an arrow, taking aim. "That'll be enough out of you kids, alright?" he warned. "Don't do anything stupid."

Alex tried to calm himself, working on the best way to use his gravity-powers to take their attackers out. "Like incarcerate innocent people?"

Force's pupilless eyes narrowed. "Like harbor a potentially hostile ET, junior," he growled, his fists starting to glow. "I've had just about all I'm willing to stand with you brats..!"

His threat was cut off at the end by a thunderous boom, right before a red-blue blur slammed into him from an adjacent corridor, driving an iron-hard fist right into his face. As Major Force was sent toppling, to slam into a wall, Superman came to a stop, looking to the four of them with concern. "Is everyone okay?"

Julie's face instantly went red. "S-S-Superman! I-I…o-ohmygosh, I can't believe…I-I mean…"

"I'll take that as a "yes,"" Superman said. "Admiral, my apologies about the reception."

Aelfyre winced. "Unnecessary, Commander El; I had already assumed this organization was atypical."

His arrow ready, the archer was trying to decide on the best target, when another arrow whizzed by his ear, forcing him to roll to the side. As he came back up on his feet, he turned and let his arrow fly at the rest of Superman's team, but Armour raced to the front, focusing as she generated her energy-shell, repulsing the arrow while Spider-Man flanked around her, firing a web-glob. Leaping backwards, the archer flipped over the web, and landed on his feet, bow ready to fire…with Green Arrow right in front of him, equally ready to shoot. "Gotcha, copycat."

Spider-Man relaxed his readied web-shooters. "Well, that was relatively easy, for once," he muttered. "Big Blue, we got any more incoming?"

Superman's eyes flared electric-blue. "Negative, Spidey; I'm not seeing any heat-signatures inbound."

Spider-Man let out a relieved sigh. "Good to hear, big guy! So, now can we..?" He stopped in mid-sentence. "Oh, crap: spider-sense is going wonky…"

Green Arrow and the black-clad archer were still staring each other down. "I suggest you put that down," Green Arrow said, "because when you blink, you _will_ become a pincushion."

"Funny, junior," the archer shot back, "because I was about to tell _you_ that."

Green Arrow snorted as he glanced at his foe's bow. "What, a recurve? You're using an old-school frame like that?"

"If it works."

Green Arrow took a second look. "So, what's the draw-poundage? 30?"

"_40,_" came the reply. "Gives you better range."

Arrow's eyes narrowed. "Tires you out faster, too," he countered. "That won't do much in a short-range fight."

"Long-range works for me."

Arrow smirked. "Unless you miss."

The archer snorted. "Why do you think they call me Hawkeye?"

"Too much Last of the Mohicans?"

Hawkeye sneered. "Says the punk dressed up like Robin Hood."

Green Arrow's eyes narrowed at that, until he glanced behind Hawkeye. "You know, you might want to turn around."

Hawkeye shook his head. "Junior, do you really expect me to fall for a sad trick like –_HUUURK!_"

His statement was silenced by a black glob that snaked from behind him and engulfed his head, as the dark-skinned lizard-creature dropped down from a panel in the ceiling. Grimacing, Green Arrow let his net-arrow fly, but it was snagged by another gooey tendril that shot from the creature's flesh, snapping it in two. Angered, the creature pulled back and slammed Arrow with his prisoner, wielding Hawkeye like a mace, before tossing him away.

The second she saw it, Hawkgirl went on the attack. "_Gordanian SWINE!_" she exploded, flapping her wings to boost herself into a flying kick, slamming the augmented Gordanian in the head. As the alien lizard stumbled back, Hawkgirl unleashed her mace, bashing the Nth Metal weapon into its flesh once, then twice…each time doing no damage, as its liquid second skin quickly repaired itself. On the third strike, the Gordanian caught the mace, engulfing it and lifting Hawkgirl off the ground, but before he could strike, Spider-Man fired a web-glob into the Gordanian's face, blinding him while he fired two web-strands at the walls, boosting himself into a slingshot-manoevre…only to have his flying kick stick into the lizard's chest.

Spider-Man groaned. "Great. Just call me Briar Rabbit." As the Gordanian tore off the web, Spider-Man fired another web-line, using it to pull himself free, landing on the ground. Snarling, the alien lizard glowered at him, before its gaze turned almost _hungry…_

His eyes flaring crimson, Superman fired an eye-ray at the Gordanian, searing its arm and freeing Hawkgirl. Howling with pain, the Gordanian took one look at him, and then bolted, scrambling back into the air ducts as it raced off. Superman was about to give chase, to track it with his thermal vision, when he was tackled by a recovered Major Force. "Should've known that air-strike wouldn't kill you, draft-dodger!" he snarled. "Fine by me!"

Regaining his footing, Superman broke Force's hold, reversing the attack into a throw, tossing Force clear. "Explain this to me, Zmeck: how exactly does _kidnapping_ an entire family with absolutely _no_ connection to Admiral Whitemane fit into your little club's goal?"

Force was back on his feet in seconds, charging a quantum blast. "That egghead was sitting on something that could level the playing field against threats like _you!_" he thundered. "But you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"

At that, Major Force let his blast fly, but Superman had already tapped his belt-buckle, extending his silvery nano-suit; on contact, the blast pushed him back…but it didn't stun him, though it took a considerable chunk out of the suit's structural integrity. "So _that's_ it," he growled. "You think that just because you toss on a military uniform, or get jacked up on some state-funded Frankenstein experiment, you think you can do whatever you like as long as you or your superiors justify it?"

His eyes narrowed. "Well, guess what, Zmeck: now I have a problem with _you._"

Before Force could counterattack, Superman was on him, his fists blurring as he pummeled Zmeck, leaving punch-sized dents in his metal skin, finishing with a right-cross to his face, flattening his nose. As the Major stumbled back, Alex saw his chance: focusing, he pointed at Force, levitating him off of the ground. "Julie, now!"

Julie was instantly in motion, flying at Force to kick him in the face, knocking him into a wall…while Julie was left hopping, clutching her foot. "_Ow, ow, ow…_"

Her attack hadn't had the desired effect, as the irate Major got back up. "You rotten little..!" He never bothered to finish his curse, as he powered up a hand-blast.

Superman went pale. "_NO!_" Darting ahead of Julie, he braced himself to block the shot…but he needn't have bothered.

"_LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!_"

At that shout, Zmeck's blast was deflected in mid-air, pulled out of its trajectory by an invisible force. Confused, the Major turned towards its new target…and found Katie, who was now glowing purple-black – _his_ purple-black. "What the..?"

Pointing her hands at Zmeck, Katie unleashed a quantum surge _twice_ as potent as his, sending the Major smashing through _two_ walls, before she collapsed. "_Katie!_" Julie cried, racing to her sibling's side. "Oh my God, are you okay?"

Holding her stomach, Katie sniffled. "My tummy hurts…"

Her brothers weren't far behind. "Holy…Katie, that was _awesome!_" Jack cheered. "You rock, Shorty!"

Katie pouted. "Stop calling me Shorty."

Bewildered, Spider-Man scratched his head. "Okay…since when did these kids get powers?" he asked.

Superman started to turn to Aelfyre. "I think I might know," he said. "Admiral, tell me you didn't do a Power-Transfer!"

"Only a partial one, Commander: I merely imparted a diluted copy of each of my abilities to them."

Superman groaned. "Admiral, in your condition, that could've _killed_ you!"

Aelfyre was firm. "There was no other choice, Commander! There was too much at stake!" he insisted. "Both your team and these children must retrieve their father's prototype before it's too late!"

Frowning, Hawkgirl hefted her mace. "I'm sorry, Admiral, but that will have to wait until _after_ we deal with the Gordanian."

Green Arrow retracted his bow. "So where was he headed?"

"The vehicle-bay."

Everyone turned towards the woozy Hawkeye. "That thing, the Gordanian…when he grabbed me, his suit – or whatever – got in my head. It could see what I knew, and I could see what it knew," he muttered. "It wanted to know where we were keeping Doc Power's prototype…and where this base stashed its Kree and Skrull tech."

"Okay, so it needs a ride out of here," Spider-Man observed, "but…why would he need an Earth gadget?"

Aelfyre winced as he straightened himself. "The children's father devised a new type of particle collider; one capable of generating antimatter!"

Superman was bug-eyed. "What?" he cried. "Oh, Rao…if he tries to hook that up to a Kree or Skrull generator without proper shielding..!"

Aelfyre nodded. "Precisely."

Jack blinked. "Uh…I'm guessing that whatever would happen is bad?"

"Kid, if that lizard gives your Dad's gizmo a power-boost, he could make a new Big Bang," Green Arrow said. "And guess what planet's at ground zero?"

Jack paled. "Oh."

"Yeah."

Superman switched on his communicator. "Superman calling Cyborg: we've found the Admiral and the kids, but we also found the Gordanian! He's heading towards the vehicle-bay, and we've just found out why the Power family was grabbed: the father had an antimatter-generating collider in his car…which is stashed in the bay! If the Gordanian grabs it and hooks it up to a Skrull or Kree ship..!"

"_We get the picture, big guy: bad news to the extreme!_" Cyborg answered. "_We just got the parents clear, so consider us on it!_"

"Understood!" Superman answered. "We're en route to assist! Superman out!" Switching off his communicator, he turned to the others. "Let's move, guys!" No-one argued, as they all raced after the Gordanian.

XXXXXXXX

_A few minutes earlier_

"Is it just me, or are you guys getting the feeling that Supes stuck us with the boring job?"

At Mimic's complaint, Black Canary rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Jones: enough already."

Cyclops nodded. "Without this intel, we're all flying blind, Rudy. Tactics, remember?" He looked to Cyborg. "Any luck?"

Huddled over the wall-mounted terminal, his arm linked to the console, Cyborg squinted as he entered one command after another. "Almost…gotcha!" Pulling his arm away, he brought up a holographic map of the entire facility, showing two blinking dots. "Okay, the Power parents should be in an office just a few meters south of here. I'm not seeing a lot of security, but we'll still need to watch it."

Koriand'r's eyes narrowed. "Why would we hesitate? Should we not punish these Auron-bedamned wretches for their crimes?"

"The "punishing" can be saved for later, Koriand'r," Power Girl said. "Right now, we need to find the Power family and get them out – if we go too noisy, these guys could get spooked and run."

Koriand'r flinched. "M-My apologies, Ladyship."

Cyclops chuckled. "She still thinks you, Kal, and Kara are gods?"

Power Girl folded her arms. "Unfortunately."

Mimic smirked. "Well, in your case, I can see why she'd make that mistake," he said, which just earned an eye-roll from Alison.

"Guys," Cyclops interjected. "Like Koriand'r said: we need to get moving." No-one else argued, as they headed further down the corridor.

Once they'd reached a corner, Cyclops peered around it, spotting the office in question…guarded by two armed soldiers. "Okay, we need to take those two out fast before they get off an alarm," he whispered. "Mimic, if we give you an opening, can you stun them enough for the rest of us to close in?"

Mimic flexed his fingers. "Piece of cake."

"Good." Cyclops turned to Power Girl. "Aly, we're gonna need a flare."

Smiling, Power Girl raised her fingertip, where a tiny light-orb rested. "Taken care of."

"Okay," Cyclops said. "Clarice, think you can form a portal right over those guys?"

Trembling, Clarice nodded. "I-I'm pretty sure I can!"

"Good. Aly, once that portal's open, toss in your flare. Rudy, you'll go through next and stun 'em, and the rest of us will follow," Cyclops finished. "Okay, Clarice: you're on!"

Scrunching her eyes, Clarice reached to the floor, dug her fingers into it, and pulled open a portal, looking down on the two guards. At once, Power Girl tossed her flare through, which erupted in a starburst of light, leaving both soldiers blinded and stumbling. Quickly, Mimic hopped through, landing between them and giving each of them a tap, causing them to both tense and then sag back, utterly disoriented. By then, the others had leapt through, at which point Cyborg grabbed one guard and tossed him into the other, allowing Cyclops to take them both out with an optic-blast.

With the guards disabled, Mimic opened the office door, sporting a smile. "Anybody call for a rescue?"

Bewildered, the couple inside – Dr. and Mrs. Power – walked out. "Who..?"

"Sorry about the delayed reaction-time, Dr. Power," Cyborg greeted. "Pretty sure we got it right, this time."

Mrs. Power looked stricken. "O-Our children are still in here! We have to find them!"

"We're already on that ma'am," Cyclops reassured her. "The rest of our team is looking for them, now…"

"_Superman calling Cyborg!_"

Superman's voice echoed from Cyborg's communicator, prompting him to put it through. "_We've found the Admiral and the kids, but we also found the Gordanian! He's heading towards the vehicle-bay, and we've just found out why the Power family was grabbed: the father had an antimatter-generating collider in his car…which is stashed in the bay! If the Gordanian grabs it and hooks it up to a Skrull or Kree ship..!_"

"We get the picture, big guy: bad news to the extreme!" Cyborg answered. "We just got the parents clear, so consider us on it!"

"_Understood! We're en route to assist! Superman out!_"

Dr. Power was horrified. "T-That thing can't be after the prototype! It only generates one or two microcollisions..!"

"…on your university's power-grid," Power Girl finished. "What would happen if it got hooked up to a bigger power-source, like an alien battle-cruiser?"

Dr. Power paused, doing the calculations in his head…and went pale. "Oh, dear _God!_"

Black Canary groaned. "Of course."

Mrs. Power was near tears. "P-Please, you have to get our kids out of here!"

"We will, ma'am, but right now, we have to get you two out of here," Cyclops said. "Aly, you think you can escort the Powers to the Blackbird..?"

"I-I can do it!" Clarice interjected. Focusing hard, she quickly formed another portal, leading onto the Blackbird, and leaving her panting. "S-See?"

Mimic blinked. "That works, too."

Dr. Power was both amazed and sceptical. "This defies all conventional physics…"

"Doc, we've found that this sorta thing works better if you _don't_ stop to think about it," Cyborg advised. "We're gonna get your kids back, so would you please move?"

Cyclops nodded. "Stick to the Blackbird, and don't come out; we should be along shortly."

Dr. Power was reluctant, but he finally nodded. "Alright." With that, he and his wife walked through, allowing Clarice to shut the portal.

Bringing up his holo-map, Cyborg highlighted the main vehicle-bay. "Okay, the bay's not far; if we hustle, we can beat Scaly there."

Mimic grinned. "Or we could let Blink here do her thing."

Seeing Clarice about to agree, Cyclops interrupted. "Not an option, Rudy. She's already tired: one more portal could leave her vulnerable if this goes bad. It's just a quick jog, so let's hustle!" With that, they hurried down the hallway towards the vehicle-bay.

Within minutes, they emerged into a huge chamber, filled with both Earth-based fighter-craft…and larger, more bulbous vessels, all of varying size and in varying states of battle-damage. "Guess this is it," Mimic mused. "So…anybody think to ask what this thing looked like?"

Cyclops grimaced. "Dammit…Power Girl, can you see anything?"

Power Girl's eyes flared as she scanned the room. "I see junk, junk, and more junk, Scott. It might help if I knew what I was looking for."

Cyborg thought for a minute. "Well, the doc probably built it on a university budget," he said, "so try looking for something that looks like my arm."

Power Girl scrunched her nose thoughtfully as she resumed her scan. "Okay…I think I see something: it's just behind that big Kree cruiser with the broken…" Her eyes went wide as her hearing caught a gun-safety click off. "_DOWN!_"

Quickly, Power Girl enshrouded her comrades in a light-dome, deflecting the high-powered bullet that came racing in from the shadows, as an all-too-familiar figure strolled into view. "Gotta say, you schmucks are persistent," Deadpool remarked, popping a fresh magazine into his automatic, "but, then again, the author'd probably get cussed out online if he made you give up easy, huh?" He seemed to stare into dead air. "Not that it'd _kill_ you to let guys like me win, for a change…"

Koriand'r blinked. "Um…is he mad?"

"I'm pretty sure that doesn't even _begin_ to cover it, lady," Robin muttered, as he looked around. "Blaire: are you sure you've got eyes on the device?"

"Positive."

Robin readied his grapnel-launcher. "That bullet was a long-range caliber, which means Deadshot's here," he said. "Batman and I have dealt with him before, so I can deal with him, or at least get him into the open. Can the rest of you handle Wilson?"

Cyborg armed his sonic cannon. "That's a given, Bird-Boy."

Robin frowned at the shot. "Once Lawton's down, make for the collider." With that, he aimed up, and fired his grapnel, pulling himself up and out of the light-dome. His gaze drawn upwards by the movement, Deadpool barely had time to dive out of the twin optic-surge and sonic-blast that Cyclops and Cyborg launched at him. With Deadpool off-balance, Black Canary rushed him, leaving the dome – and prompting Power Girl to raise a bevy of light-screens to block the salvo of sniper-shots that raced in from Deadshot's vantage-point – to unload a lightning-fast punch-flurry…only to have Deadpool block every strike, countering with a knee-kick to her abdomen while he reached for his sword…

With expert aim, Cyclops blasted the blade out of Deadpool's hand, giving Dinah enough time to recover and _level_ Wilson with a sonic scream…before she had to leap behind cover to dodge another burst of sniper-fire. "Dammit, bird-boy, where's that cover?"

Robin was already on the move, racing through the shadows as he leapt from one craft to another. With one leap, he cleared an F-22 just as Deadshot fired on his position, to duck behind the dorsal fin of a Kree fighter. '_He's already fired 10 bullets, and that caliber ammo has a 15-round magazine – five left._' Zipping from his cover, Robin fired his grapnel, pulling himself up on top of a cruiser, dodging another shot. '_Four._' Darting to the edge, he crouched low, scanning the bay for any trace, before pulling back, in time to dodge a third shot. '_That's three. If he can get me from up here, he's gotta be high up._' Creeping back, he slid down the cruiser's starboard hull, keeping in the shadows as he resumed his scan. '_That battleship looks like a good spot, but I'd better be sure…_'

Drawing a Birdarang – his own touch on his mentor's weapon – he let it fly, clanging it against an F-16's tailfin…which prompted a shadowy silhouette to move atop the battleship, before a bullet pierced the tailfin. '_Bingo!_' Robin thought. '_Okay, Lawton, now you've got two left. Do I hear one?_' Firing his grapnel, he snagged the wing-fin of another fighter and pulled it, prompting Deadshot to open up on it. Drawing another Birdarang, he threw it at the canopy of a Skrull fighter, at which point Deadshot's last shot pierced it. Cursing, the silhouette ducked down, to reload…giving Robin the opening he needed.

As Deadshot drew another magazine, Robin fired his grapnel, swinging in to knock him off his feet with a flying kick, his sniper-rifle skittering away. "Let's see how tough you are up-close, Lawton!"

Deadshot's eye narrowed. "Tough enough to pluck your feathers, bird-brat!" he spat, raising his arm…as a pistol-barrel extended from his gauntlet. Robin was barely able to leap out of the way of the glove-shot, which gave Deadshot enough time to draw a revolver. Cocking it, he took aim at Robin…

"Look out!"

Koriand'r's shout came seconds before her green bolt blasted the weapon out of Deadshot's hand. Reacting fast, Robin fired his grapnel, snagging Deadshot's coat and yanking him into a clothesline, knocking him out. With Deadshot down, Robin glared at the floating Tamaranian. "I had that under control."

Koriand'r huffed. "You are welcome, human."

By then, Deadpool had gotten back to his feet. "Okay, you stupid brats, I'm _through_ fuckin' arou – _AACK!_" His expletive died as he took one step, right into a portal that sent him tumbling out of the ceiling…and back into the entry portal, sending him looping through, accelerating faster and faster each time. "How…"

_Zip!_

"…the…"

_Zip!_

"…fuck…"

_Zip!_

"…did…"

_Zip!_

"…that…"

_Zip!_

"…_happen?_"

On that last loop, Clarice gestured, banishing her portals, leaving Deadpool in midair…to smash into the ground at terminal velocity. At first, Clarice was horrified, until Deadpool moved. "_Ow._"

Clarice was trembling as she backed away. "I-I didn't mean to..!"

"Easy, Clarice," Cyclops soothed. "I wouldn't get bent out of shape over _him_; he's walked away from Wonder Woman punching him out. He'll live."

Scanning the upper levels with his cybernetic eye, Cyborg powered down his arm-cannon. "Looks like we're clear," he observed. "Okay, Aly: where'd you spot Doc P's gizmo?"

"This way!" Power Girl exclaimed, racing further into the bay. Within minutes, she had led them to an open section…where a recently-opened crate lay. "But…but it was _here!_"

"Could these guys have moved it?" Black Canary asked.

Mimic happened to look to the left. "Uh, guys?" he asked. "Somebody moved it, but I don't think it was these guys…"

Following Mimic's gaze, they spotted the augmented Gordanian as it leapt out of the back hatch of a Kree fighter – where a small silver unit had been MacGyvered into a panel – to tackle into Cyborg, following with a whip-tendril that knocked Cyclops, Mimic, and Clarice back, frcing Power Girl to shield herself and Dinah with a barrier as she hailed the others. "Kal, we've found the Gordanian! He's already grabbed the collider! Any ideas how to shut him down fast?"

"_Aly, whatever bio-augmentation system he's using is likely heat- and sound-sensitive; it retracted both from my eye-rays and Cyborg's arm! A double-whammy should do the trick!_"

"Got it!" Power Girl looked to Black Canary. "Dinah, with me!" At once, she fired a wide-field eye-ray, encompassing the Gordanian's entire body, while Canary unleashed another scream. Convulsing from the twin impacts, the Gordanian was slammed into a Skrull fighter as his bio-suit was stripped away, until he collapsed on the ground, with his suit, now the size of a golf-ball, lying congealed and still next to him.

The second she saw the exposed Gordanian, Koriand'r's eyes flared with fury. Shrieking like a harpy, she dove on him, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against the fighter, forming another energy-bolt in her free hand. "_Now_, lizard," she hissed. "Now you will _pay_ for what you _did_ to us..!"

"Put him down, Koriand'r."

Power Girl breathed a sigh of relief as Superman and the other team caught up with them, but Black Canary was less enthused. "About time."

Seeing Superman, Koriand'r looked confused and hurt. "B-But…Great One, you _know_ what he did!" she murmured. "H-He and his crew…they _tortured_ us..!"

Superman nodded gently. "Admiral Whitemane told me, Koriand'r," he answered. "He saw the flight-logs; we all know what the Gordanians did to you."

Koriand'r teared up as she readied her strike. "Then you know why he has to die..!"

"What of the others like you?" Aelfyre asked.

Koriand'r paused. "W-What others? Only I survived…"

"…from that group, yes," Aelfyre agreed. "The logs I saw detailed _many_ groups like yours, child. You came from but one. The others are still out there."

Superman gestured to the Gordanian. "He will face justice for his crimes, Koriand'r, make no mistake," he said, "but he knows where the others are. Kill him, and you condemn all of them to the same fate you faced. Is that what you want?"

Her expression stricken, Koriand'r shook her head. "N-No." With that, she lowered her hand, her bolt dispersing…before she levelled the Gordanian with a right-cross, knocking him out.

At the others' expressions of mild surprise, Koriand'r only shrugged. "You only said not to kill him, Sky Lord."

Superman sighed. "I did, didn't I?" His exasperation turned to alarm as he spotted the glow from the fighter. Darting towards it, he quickly yanked the wires linking the collider to the ship, but the glow kept growing. "Oh, Rao, it's already starting to overload!"

"Can you stop it?" Cyclops asked.

"Not without making it worse!" Superman cried. "This unit uses electrostatic forces to keep matter and antimatter apart in order to study the collision-products before they self-annihilate; there's not enough power in the normal shielding to contain this much antimatter! The only way to strengthen the shielding is to use more power, which will only generate more antimatter!"

Mimic gulped. "So, how big a boom are we talking? A house? A city block?"

Superman grimaced. "Rudy, there's enough here to level the entire eastern Seaboard!" He gathered the device into his arms. "I have to get this out of here..?"

"No."

Aelfyre spoke before Power Girl could even object. "Give it to me," he said, standing clear of Alex. "Clear a path to the sky above, and stand well back."

Alex blinked. "Admiral, what are you doing?"

"When the device's shielding fails, I will absorb the energy of the blast, and channel it into space, where it can do no harm."

Cyborg froze. "Whoa, Admiral. You're in no shape to…"

"I will do as I must, young man, regardless of my "shape.""

Katie was near tears. "I-I can do it!" she said. "You gave me that kinda power too, remember?"

"Yes, but you have not had the training needed to handle this much energy, little one," Aelfyre admonished. "You would never live through it."

"And you will?" Superman countered. "Admiral, even without your injuries, this kind of an energy-transfer could kill you! I have time to get it into space..!"

"No, Kal-El of Krypton, you do not," Aelfyre said. "I can feel the energy building; the shielding will fail within the minute. You would never escape the blast." His eyes narrowed. "Every second we delay gives me less time to prepare. Now _give it here._"

Superman frowned, but he handed the collider to Aelfyre. "You guys heard the Admiral: everyone back!" he ordered. "Aly, we need to cut a hole in the ceiling, _fast!_" Aiming their gazes upward, he and Power Girl fired eye-rays into the metal ceiling, converging and then spreading out, melting a wide hole in the ceiling, then the next floor, then the next, and the next…

His eyes scrunched as he focused, Aelfyre gasped as the collider's shielding failed, the matter-antimatter reaction melting the device instantly as the explosion grew in his hands…and then shrunk, its energy completely absorbed into Aelfyre's body. Aelfyre's veins popped against his skin, his eyes scrunched and his jaw clenched with agony, his every movement anguished, but he still plodded beneath the hole being formed above him. Superman and Power Girl had only just finished when Aelfyre raised his hands up…and unleashed a massive beam of pure white energy into the night sky, sending it streaking far, far out into the black void.

As the beam died away, its energy expended, Aelfyre's eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed, prompting Superman to catch him, switching on his communicator. "Sentrius, signal the _Argo_, and have it meet us at the Watchtower with as many nano-medical gel-packs as possible, and signal the Javelin for immediate med-e-vac! The Admiral's heading for a crash!"

"_Acknowledged, Commander._"

As Superman lifted the unconscious Admiral into his arms, Katie spoke up. "W-We're coming, too!"

Cyclops shook his head. "No dice, you four. Your parents are waiting, and they're worried about you."

"But..!"

"He's in good hands, guys," Cyborg said. "Once he's out of the woods, we'll let you know somehow. Right now, you need to get home." He paused, reconsidering as he noticed their morphed attire. "After you get a change of clothes, of course."

Alex looked worried. "Are you going to tell our folks about…what we can do, now?"

Superman looked at the others briefly. "That's not our secret to tell," he admitted. "We'll have to discuss what you plan to do with those powers, but for now, it's up to you whether or not you want to tell anyone about them."

By then, the Javelin was hovering over the hole in the ceiling, prompting Superman to fly aboard with the Admiral, while Clarice opened up another portal for them to escape with. Once they were all outside, Black Canary groaned. "Well, that was fun."

Mimic, however, was elated. "Oh, yeah! First victory, guys!" he cheered. "Justice League, here we come!"

Green Arrow snorted. "Getting a bit ahead of ourselves, aren't we?"

Armour blinked. "Are missions always like this, Alison-san?"

Power Girl was about to shake her head…until she thought about it. "Actually, Hisako, a lot of them are."

Dinah sighed. "Good to know."

XXXXXXXX

_Watchtower_

It had been a long half-hour.

After arriving at the Watchtower with Admiral Whitemane – and trying to reassure the Admiral's panicked son who had beamed aboard from the _StormHerd_ – Superman had quickly moved Aelfyre to the infirmary, applying the gel-packs from the _Argo_ as fast as possible while performing what he knew of Kymellian first aid. All that remained now was for him, as well as the others, to wait.

By then, the rest of their team, and the League, had assembled in the Monitor Womb with him, waiting for the packs to do their job. "How bad was he?" Wonder Woman asked.

Superman sighed. "If we'd treated him with Earth medicine, he'd have died," he answered. "It looked like we got him here in time, but he just transmuted the energy from a matter-antimatter reaction."

Spider-Man gulped. "Heavy."

Batman was calm. "What about that facility? Was there any sign of who ran Deadpool's team?"

Cyborg shook his head. "Not a trace. Whoever ran that show walked the second we showed up."

"Maybe, but Dr. and Mrs. Power gave us _one_ clue," Power Girl said. "They said they spoke with a U.S. general…and a shorty, heavyset African-American woman." Her eyes narrowed. "It sounds like Waller and her country-club are at it, again."

"Then we'll need to keep an eye out for them," Batman said, "as well as keep surveillance on the Power family; these people do not like to leave witnesses."

Cyborg smiled knowingly. "I think I have an idea about that."

Glancing to their newest teammates, Cyclops smiled. "Good job out there, guys."

Clarice looked nervous. "W-We did good?" she asked. "W-We don't have to d-do it again?"

Diana's eyes went wide. "Hera, child, why on Earth would you think that?"

Clarice cringed. "Y-You…at that school, you have that room…"

"…for _training_, Clarice," Cyclops corrected. "We are _not_ like Sinister; nobody's going to make you jump through hoops."

Dinah snorted. "Tell that to Logan."

Hawkgirl frowned. "What about the Gordanian?"

Sentrius answered her, never moving from her monitor station. "_A Green Lantern patrol is already en route, Colonel Hol. The Gordanian will be jointly transferred to Confederate and Thanagarian custody for interrogation._"

Koriand'r bowed. "We thank you, oh wise and mighty oracle!"

Sentrius paused, turning around. "_Communication dysfunction; invalid recognition tag used._"

Superman waved his hand. "Long story short, Sentrius, she thinks Kryptonians are gods and our installations and creations – including you – are temples. We're working on fixing it."

"_Understood, Commander._"

Glancing to Koriand'r, Robin scratched his head. "I guess you want to go home, too, right?"

Koriand'r looked pensive. "There is no hurry."

Robin arched an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Koriand'r looked away. "If possible, I would prefer to establish communication with Tamaran before my return is discussed."

Green Lantern thought for a moment. "Tamaran is a bit out of the way, but we should be able to get comms out there within a few weeks."

"I thank you."

Turning to her cousin, Kara looked stricken. "Kal, when you spoke with him, did the Admiral have any information on the Dheronians?"

"I never had a chance to ask, Kara," Superman replied. "We were a bit pressed for time – he never got the chance to finish relaying the intel he'd gathered…"

"_Commander, I am detecting an increase in the Admiral's brain-activity. He is conscious…and asking for you, as well as Citizens Ka-Lir and Zor-El._"

At Sentrius' update, the three of them hurried to the infirmary, where Kofi was waiting by his father's bedside. His eyes slightly groggy, Aelfyre was lying in a medical cot, clad in only his boxer-like undergarments, his leg and ribs dotted with semi-translucent blue gel-packs. Seeing them, Kofi quickly rose. "C-Commander El!" he greeted, saluting. "O-On behalf of myself and the Kymellian Commonwealth, I thank you for…"

"Be still, son," Aelfyre murmured, waving Kofi back with a shaky hand. "Formality is not needed here."

Superman recalled Aelfyre's earlier comment. "You knew my father, sir?"

Aelfyre nodded. "Years back, before the Shi'ar Siege; we met at a lecture he gave at Capital University," he replied. "Sadly, I fear we cannot talk of such pleasnant times." He sat up. "Earlier, I told you of the research the Gordanians were undertaking."

"Their genetic and augmentation programs, yes."

Aelfyre looked grim. "What I did not mention was the ultimate aim of such vile research," he said. "They had hoped to duplicate your people's solar powers, enough to bypass your technology's genetic safeguards."

Kara gasped. "T-They were…trying to get around our Bio-Coding?"

Aelfyre nodded. "They used other species to perfect their process, with the Tamaranian girl as their main subject."

"It never would have worked," Superman said. "The Bio-Coding reads markers in sections of non-coding DNA _specific_ to Kryptonians. The Gordanians would have had better odds trying to win an Earth lottery jackpot ten weeks in a row."

"Even so, they still would have tried to create a legion of shock-troops with your people's powers," Aelfyre said, "built upon the blood of legions more innocent souls."

Power Girl looked grave. "Could the Dheronians' benefactor be behind this, too?"

Kofi looked confused. "What?"

"Admiral, we, too, have had some distressing news," Superman said. "Krypton's destruction was no accident. It was orchestrated by an unknown individual, who supplied advanced technology to one of our oldest enemies, the Dheronians."

Aelfyre grimaced, his eyes scrunching shut. "Maker, be _merciful…_"

"Whoever helped them was capable of constructing entire fleets, as well as transporting them across the universe instantly," Superman said. "Admiral, if you have heard of anything..!"

"If I had, you would know of it," Aelfyre replied. "Sadly, I know of no such group with these capabilities." Sighing, he leaned back. "It is almost too dire to be a coincidence: first Azerath's destruction…then Krypton…and now, New Genesis and Oa both warn of old things stirring in the dark."

"What "old things"?" Supergirl asked.

"Nothing by name," Aelfyre answered. "Merely whispers of echoes; if this is your conspirator, it knows enough to hide well." Sitting back up, he extended his hand with a smile. "But know this, children of Krypton: so long as you and your allies stand with the light, Kymellia and her Commonwealth stand with you."

Superman smiled back, and shook it. "Thank you, Admiral."

Aelfyre chuckled. "And of the four Power children?"

"We'll be keeping an eye on them."

Kofi frowned. "Father, are you certain that performing a Power Transfer on them was wise? What if they misuse your gifts?"

"I feel confident that they will not, son," Aelfyre answered, "provided they find guidance from the right friends."

Power Girl lightly giggled. "We'll see if we can help with that."

Superman nodded, before his expression turned serious. "If that's all, sir, I'm afraid I have to get going," he said, turning to go. "I have an appointment with a friend that I need to keep."

XXXXXXXX

_LexCorp HQ, Metropolis_

"_Mr. Luthor, your 9:00 appointment is here. Also, there is a Clark Kent to see you._"

Sitting at his desk, still in his motorized wheelchair – until he finished physio – Lex Luthor switched on his intercom. "Send Mr. Kent in, Mercy."

Several minutes later, his office door opened, and Clark – his best friend, from what he'd heard – walked in, wearing khakis, a button-up shirt, and a vest, his glasses over his nose. "Hey, Lex."

Trying to smile, Lex nodded in greeting. "Clark." He felt a bit bad for so flat a greeting, but it was all he knew to do.

It was yet another downside to having massive gaps in his memory.

Shaking his head, Lex came back to the moment. "Any reason you wanted to see me?"

Clark's smile became a bit strained. "I wanted to see how you were doing."

"Oh. Right." Lex shrugged. "Well, physiotherapy is going well. The doctors say I'll be up and about in a month or two, with the progress I'm making."

"That's good," Clark said. "And…how about the other stuff?"

Lex sighed. "If you mean my memory, it's the same as that day you stopped by," he answered. "I'm picking up bits and pieces, but if you're expecting me to suddenly be all buddy-buddy with you again, you're asking a bit much."

Clark's face fell. "Oh."

Lex felt guilty. "I'm sorry if that was harsh, Clark, but it's the truth."

"You're right, Lex; you're right," Clark agreed. "I guess it was too much to hope for, right now." He smiled. "How about we just be pals as-is, and go from there, memories or no memories?"

Lex smiled back. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed. "So…any ideas?"

"Well, it's not an idea for right now, but we used to play the odd round of basketball," Clark said. "I can get some of our…some of my pals down for a three-on-three game."

Lex chuckled. "Six musketeers, huh? Sounds good!" As Clark brightened, he paused. "What?"

Clark shook his head. "Nothing."

As Lex's pager beeped, Lex sighed. "Sorry, Clark, but I have a meeting; can we talk later?"

"Sure, Lex; no problem," Clark said. "See you."

As Clark left, Lex rolled to his personal elevator, shut the door…and inserted his key, opening a secret panel with one button. He pressed it, letting the elevator take him down to the secret level he'd had built over the past few weeks.

The secret _soundproof_ level.

Emerging in a darkened, high-tech operations-center, with only a skeleton-staff, Lex rolled towards his two guests. "Judging by your expression, our little first flight was a dust-up, Waller."

Frowning, Amanda Waller nodded. "We were expecting a bit of friction, Luthor."

""A bit of friction," Waller?" Henry Gyrich snapped. "We had to evacuate an entire facility, we lost access to both a promising _human_ resource and _two_ aliens, and you and Ross were both seen!"

"By face only, Gyrich; the Powers didn't get our names," Amanda retorted. "If they become a problem, we'll deal with them. For now, they're low priority."

"Fine, then," Lex said. "But I want to know how we plan to deal with the Kryptonians and their little club with the suckers you've been hiring. If you want me bankrolling this op, I'm gonna have to see a potential return."

"Our recruiting is ongoing, Luthor. Wilson, Lawton, Zmeck, and Barton were all we could get on short notice," Amanda said. "Right now, they're the best we have, but…"

"_Hey, Walls! What's a guy gotta do to get some chimichangas down here?_"

Amanda's eye ticked as she turned around. "How did you get this frequency, Wilson?"

An unrepentant Deadpool stared back from multiple view-screens. "_You know, Walls, you really oughtta put better locks on your office,_" he remarked. "_Oh, and me, Zmecks, Shots, and Little John bugged outta there just fine, thanks for asking!_" He looked past her. "_Oh, hey, Baldy's back! I was wondering when the author was gonna bring you in!_"

Lex arched an eyebrow. "What's he talking about?"

Amanda's glare was murderous. "Get _off_ this channel, Wilson, or you're _gone._"

Deadpool laughed. "_Or what, Walls? You'll get somebody else to run this show? Like who?_"

"Like _me._"

At that gravelly voice, echoing from the shadows, Deadpool froze, causing Amanda to smirk. "As you can see, Deadpool, I already _found_ a replacement leader."

"_Well, who? Who could possibly…oh. Oh my shit. Oh my shit. Oh my shit._"

The owner of the voice – tall, leanly muscled, in a black bodysuit with a full cowl and an orange half-mask, armed with twin katanas, twin revolvers and automatics – walked into view. "So that's him, Waller? That's the punk Weapon X named after me?"

"_EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!_"

Deadpool's squeal drowned out any reply Amanda planned to make. "_SLADE WILSON! OH MY GOD!_" he cried, before turning his gaze slightly into empty space. "_Author, dude, I take back EVERY bad thing I said about you between scenes! You brought in DEATHSTROKE! I LOVE YOU, MAN!_"

Amanda chuckled. "So your new CO meets your approval, then?"

Slade – Deathstroke – glared at Deadpool. "Do we have a problem here, junior?"

Deadpool instantly saluted. "_No, SIR! I am ON your frequency!_" he declared, before adding, "_Dude, you even got the Ron Perlman voice! THANK YOU!_"

Deathstroke put a hand to his temple. "Just report in at 0500, boy."

"_Yes, sir!_" With that, Deadpool signed out.

Slade sighed. "Colourful bunch you got here, Waller."

Amanda smiled. "Honestly, I'd expected Wade would be the one to give you trouble."

"Beautiful." Slade looked around. "And this is what we have to work with."

"For now," Henry said. "General Ross is presently covering up our military foul-up; Senator Kelly is garnering support for Project: Cadmus; and Dr. Storm is awaiting recall."

"Sounds like you need results."

Amanda nodded. "Think you're up for it, Wilson?"

Deathstroke chuckled darkly. "Waller, take it from me: once I've whipped this Suicide Squad into shape, that E.T. and his club won't know what _hit_ 'em."

XXXXXXXX

_Power residence, September 20_

"So, Lex is still fuzzy, huh?"

With the morning sun shone in the sky, Cyborg casually strolled through Queens, his phone in his ear. "_Pretty much, Vic,_" Clark answered. "_He mentioned six musketeers briefly, but he didn't get the significance._"

Victor smiled. "Sounds like his head's working on a reboot, man. Give him time." Spotting the Power residence, he added, "I'm gonna have to call back, Clark. Catch you later."

"_Later, Vic._"

By the time Victor hung up his phone, he could see the four Power kids, in regular clothes, starting to head to the car, with Alex driving. "How's everyone holding up?"

Startled, the four of them turned towards him, calming once they recognized him. "Okay, we guess," Alex said.

Katie gulped. "Is Admiral Horsey..?"

"…on his way back home, safe and sound," Victor assured her. "So, what'd you all decide about your folks?"

Julie sighed. "We can't tell them."

Alex nodded. "The best we can do is keep our heads down, for now; if we let on about our powers, those guys could come after us."

Victor shrugged. "There's a third option."

Jack perked up. "Yeah?"

"I know a few people that know a thing or two about folks with…unique talents," Victor said. "Ever since the Justice League came together, it's occurred to me that, just maybe, a few kids with gifts could do some good, too."

Julie looked sceptical. "Seriously?"

Victor smiled knowingly. "It's worked before."

"So…what, then?" Katie asked.

"If you're interested, I could help you guys get a handle on those powers," Victor answered. "At the very least, you could better keep an eye out for trouble."

Julie paused. "I don't know," she said. "I mean, no offence, but being normal is tough enough…"

"We're _not_ normal, Julie; not anymore," Alex countered. "Admiral Whitemane stood up and took an antimatter blast for _all_ of us, which could've killed him if he hadn't powered us up. I don't think we should sit around on our duffs and waste that." He nodded to Victor. "I'm in."

Jack grinned. "Yeah, like I'm passing up a chance to be a superhero!"

Katie beamed. "Me, too!"

Sighing, Julie half-smiled. "Okay, okay…"

Victor laughed. "Good to hear!" he said. "So, any ideas on code-names?" Looking around, he armed his sonic-cannon, and then powered down again. "I go by Cyborg: name says it all."

Alex thought for a moment. "Call me…Zero-G."

Julie paused. "Lightspeed."

Jack flexed. "Duh! I'm the Mass Master!"

Katie thought hard. "Um…um…oh, I know! I'm Energizer!"

Victor chuckled. "Cool: a regular power-pack deal!"

"Yeah…yeah!" Alex agreed. "You can call the four of us…_Power Pack!_"

Victor grinned. "Okay, then, Power Pack," he said, "here's what we need to do…"

XXXXXXXX

_Former Cadmus installation_

In the ruins of the vehicle-bay, repair-work, supervised by General Ross, was well underway. S.H.I.E.L.D. technicians were hard at work, re-patching the hole seared through to the sky, while engineers took stock of the damaged vessels, sorting the salvageable from the scrap.

Amidst all the hustle and bustle, no-one noticed a lone glob of what appeared to be gelatinized grease lying on the floor…as it started to _crawl away._

It had never anticipated the power of these "heroes" of Earth. Their power had far exceeded its old host.

It needed a new host…and it knew exactly who to choose.

It would take time to get to this "New York City," but it would be patient.

And with that, the symbiotic glob inched away, making for the nearest vehicle, to hide itself aboard…and await its chance…

XXXXXXXX

_Author's Note:_

_I am SO, SO sorry for the long delay, everyone. This semester, I over-scheduled myself, and didn't leave myself enough downtime. The end result? Too many assignments and too little time. Thankfully, next semester looks a little better. Thank you for your patience!_

_Also, the character of Mackenzie Fox isn't mine; she was suggested to me by KingofJokers23. She'll be back, in the future! Thanks for the idea!_

_Coming Soon:_

_In the midst of Apocalypse's latest gambit, the X-Men's beloved Professor gets some extremely surprising news, leaving him racing to aid a family he never knew…_

…_but he's not the only one._

_Can our heroes stop En Sabah Nur's deadly plot?_

_Or will a Second Horseman rise?_

_Find out, in "For We Are One," coming to your computer soon… _


	4. For We Are One

CHAPTER FOUR: FOR WE ARE ONE

_Loch Shiel, Scotland, September 22, 2009 _

The silence of the approaching midnight over the Loch was shattered by the sound of blaring music paired with chorusing fans, both echoing from the ruins of the old castle on the cliff. Inside the moss-covered rock walls, the heavy metal rave was in full swing, the dungeon of the castle packed with teens as the band rocked out, their guitar-solos and lyrics shaking the ancient stone to its foundations.

Finally, the band ended their song to riotous applause, and broke for intermission, allowing the ravers to head out to get some fresh air…and fresh ale from their waiting kegs. At the back of the crowd, a young man of 19, with messy dirty-blond hair and cool green eyes, in black jeans, a red t-shirt, and a black vest, smirked at the busty, miniskirt-and-tube-top-clad redhead on his arm. "What I tell you, luv?"

The girl giggled. "Bloody awesome, Lucas!"

Lucas' sly grin grew. "Thought so," he replied. "A might more exciting than a weekend in that private school with that dull wanker Andrew, eh?"

Swallowing the last of her beer, the girl almost stumbled over her feet. "God, yes; Andrew's such a bloody dullard," she mumbled, before she kissed him on the cheek. "Not like you, luv."

Lucas grinned openly. '_He shoots, he scores, like the Yanks say._' "Like to show a girl a good time, I'd say," he said. "On that subject, care to head off?"

The girl pouted. "You're taking me home _already?_"

"Never said that, luv," Lucas answered. "Just thought you'd prefer somewhere private." His grin turned sly. "You know, so we can have a _real_ party."

The girl gasped, as her face flushed. "Y-You don't waste time, do you?"

Lucas shrugged. "Never saw the point," he said. "So?"

The girl chewed the side of her lip. "I-I…"

"As much as I hate to interrupt this romantic moment, Lucas, could I have a moment of your time?"

Scowling, Lucas spun to face a trenchcoat-clad figure, standing in the shadow of the castle wall. "Bugger off!" he spat. "I'm busy here!"

The man chuckled. "So I see." Casually, he strolled into the light…revealing his pale face, red eyes, and pointed teeth. "Still, Lucas, if it wasn't important, I wouldn't have asked."

Lucas did a double-take. "Bloody hell…what are you?"

The man shrugged. "Rather complicated."

Glancing to the girl, Lucas expected to see her freaking out…but instead, she was catatonic, staring into empty space, perfectly still. "What the..?"

"I wouldn't worry about your little pet, Lucas. I simply hit her "pause button,"" the man remarked. "Once I'm gone, she'll wake up back in her dormitory, thinking that the two of you enjoyed the night of semi-drunken debauchery you had intended all along." He arched an ebony eyebrow. "Still, it surprises me that you chose one so young, Lucas. Do her parents know where she is?" He smirked. "Do yours?"

Lucas saw red. "You just piss off about that, you sod!" he snarled. "Mum doesn't know her arse from a hole in the ground, and my pop can go to _HELL!_"

To his surprise, the stranger smiled. "I thought as much," he said. "Do Ian and David agree with you?"

Lucas froze. "H-How do you know about them?"

"I am like you, Lucas." To illustrate his point, the man gestured to the girl, causing her to rise several inches off the ground, before landing softly. "More to the point, I have made something of a career out of studying the X-Gene – cases like yours are of special interest to me, to say nothing of your pedigree."

Lucas' scowl came back. "So go talk to the old man, then."

The man laughed outright. "I've already visited his Institute, Lucas; I was significantly under-impressed," he replied. "To come back, I have observed that mutants who exhibit multiple talents experience significant mental distress, which manifests in predictable – though dramatic – ways. To my knowledge, there is only _one_ other case similar to yours."

His smile darkened. "And since she is out of my reach – for now – I have come to you."

Lucas was wary. "To do what?"

"Tick off your dad, for starters."

Lucas perked up. "That so?"

The man nodded. "Believe me, Lucas: at the very least, what I have in mind will be a perfect "fuck you" – so to speak – to your father and all he stands for."

Lucas smirked. "I'm interested," he admitted, "but I'll have to check in with me boys."

"By all means."

As the stranger started to walk off, Lucas called after him. "Got a name?" he asked. "So's I can find you?"

The man smirked back over his shoulder. "My name, Lucas, is Sinister," he replied. "And it is _I_ who will find _you._"

XXXXXXXX

_Xavier Institute_

'_Ugh…why do these sessions have to be so early?_'

Nudged from her sleep by Professor Xavier's mental summons, Dinah half-dragged herself out of bed, donning her training uniform on autopilot. By the time she was dressed, she was awake enough to head out of her room, where she met up with Phantom, Dust, Brainiac 5, and Scarlet Witch as they headed to the elevator. "Hey, guys," she mumbled.

Phantom smiled. "Hey, Dinah."

Scarlet Witch chuckled. "Trouble sleeping?"

Black Canary snorted. "Sleeping's not the problem. It's waking up that sucks."

Brainiac 5 blinked. "I have experienced no perturbations in my recharge-cycle, Dinah. Are such dysfunctions of the human sleep-cycle normal?"

"Only when we wake up too early, Mark."

Phantom giggled. "So, does anyone know what we're doing, today?"

"Only that Kal's handling our session, today," Scarlet Witch answered. "Other than that, I have no idea."

Dust spoke up. "Whatever it is, surely it will be more pleasant than Mr. Logan's sessions?"

Dinah shrugged. "If you say so," she remarked, before her expression soured, as she saw who was coming around the corner. "Princess."

Except for a mild frown, Siryn's expression was regally tranquil. "Canary."

Dinah couldn't really put her finger on it, but there was something about von Doom's kid that just rubbed her the wrong way…and it was _not_ because she'd spent her childhood and teen-years with a silver spoon in her mouth. "So glad you could come mingle with us "commoners.""

Siryn ignored the shot. "The X-Men's session follows yours, and I will not abandon my duty to my team," she remarked, while arching a silky eyebrow at Black Canary, "especially not due to oversleeping."

Black Canary's eye started ticking.

Gulping, Phantom stepped in. "Anita, do you know anything about Kal's plan for the morning?"

Siryn shook her head. "I am sorry, Tinya, but I do not."

"What about Clarice?" Dust asked. "Is she up to training with us?"

Siryn smiled gently. "From what I heard, Sooraya, she was actually able to handle a checkup with Hank. Based on his recommendation, I believe she's going to try a session with us."

That calmed Dinah, somewhat. "Good to hear," she said. "Did he figure out anything about what this "Sinister" bastard did to her?"

Anita looked mournful. "Unfortunately, Clarice became rather anxious before he could perform any more detailed examinations."

Brainiac 5 nodded. "That is unfortunate, but understandable; if Sinister's procedures were as traumatic as we believe, Clarice likely associates any medical procedure with the immense distress caused by his work. It will require multiple exposures to Dr. McCoy's safer examinations before that anxiety begins to wane."

"In other words, it'll take a while before she's comfortable enough with us," Scarlet Witch translated.

Mark blinked. "Is that not what I said?"

Phantom gave her boyfriend's hand a quick squeeze. "Yeah," she admitted, "but Wanda just said it a bit better, baby."

"Understood."

By then, they had reached the elevator, which quickly took them into the lower levels of the Institute. In less than a minute, they had emerged in the control chamber overlooking the Danger Room, where the X-Men, Superman, Power Girl, Krypto, and Koriand'r, in her swimsuit-esque violet garment – which was drawing the stares of several of X-Force's male team-members – waited with Wolverine and Madelyn. Seeing them approach, Koriand'r beamed. "Friends!" she declared, racing over to catch Dinah, Anita, and Sooraya in a hug, with only Tinya and Mark escaping her bear-hug due to her arm-span being too short for all of them. "I rejoice that you could join us!"

Siryn coughed. "As…are we, Kori."

Her smile growing at her new nickname, Kori calmed at Superman's voice. "Easy, Kori. We wouldn't want to incapacitate our teammates before training, right?"

Kori was instantly contrite, releasing her friends and lightly bowing. "I apologize, oh Sky Lord."

Wolverine chuckled as Superman groaned. "Can't save 'em all, Flyboy."

Grinning, Mimic nudged Quicksilver with his elbow. "Just want this on record: she can hug me anytime she wants."

Pietro chuckled. "Amen to that."

"Guys," Iceman cautioned. "Not now, okay?"

Taking a deep breath, Superman addressed his team. "Okay, guys: today's session will be a variant of the "Capture-the-Flag" scenario. You'll be split into two groups, and you'll have to infiltrate the opposing group's territory to collect holographic tokens while keeping the opposing group out of your territory. If one of the other team "tags" you with their powers, you're out for one minute. First team to grab fifteen tokens wins."

Berzerker frowned. "So whichever team gets you and Krypto wins, basically."

Superman grinned slyly. "Not this time, Ray; Krypto and I will be playing a different role, this time around," he replied. "We won't be on _either_ team. Instead, Krypto and I will be part of the environment: instead of dealing with the Danger Room's traps, you'll deal with _us._ Same rule applies: we tag you, you're timed out."

Black Canary groaned, glancing to Dust. ""More pleasant than Logan's sessions," huh?"

Kori looked determined. "We will endeavour to complete your training as best we can, Great One!"

As Superman put his hand to his forehead, Power Girl lightly giggled, stopping him from trying to correct her. "Pick your battles, baby," she chided.

Iceman looked thoughtful. "Terrain?"

"It'll be pretty standard, Bobby; both sides get an equal mix of cover and open."

Sunspot shrugged. "Sounds good. What's the split?"

Superman looked them over. "Iceman, Husk, Wolfsbane, Berzerker, Boom-Boom, Kori, Mimic, Blob, Blink, Black Canary, and Brainiac 5 on one team; everyone else on the other." He gestured to the elevator down. "You'll have two minutes to learn your terrain before we start. A minute after that, Krypto and I will join the fray."

Iceman nodded. "Got it." With that, both teams headed to the elevator, heading to opposite ends of the Danger Room once they were inside, at which point the holo-emitters activated, changing the empty metal chamber into a lush forested area.

Black Canary looked around. "Okay," she mused. "Now what?"

Iceman was more thoughtful. "We'll need to get a lay of the land fast; Kori, think you can fly around and tell us what our territory looks like?"

"Easily, friend Snow-Man!" With that, the Tamaranian girl took to the air, flying off.

Iceman frowned at his team's resulting snickers. "It's _Ice_man, Kori," he muttered, before turning to the others. "We're gonna have to split into two forces: one to cover our territory against the other team, and one to sneak into their turf. Rahne, think you can sniff out anyone heading this way?"

Wolfsbane nodded. "Aye."

"Good. You, Husk, Blob, Berzerker, and Boom-Boom will stay behind our lines. Once Kori gets back with her intel, you'll need to start setting up traps and ambushes," Iceman continued. "Tabitha, you'll be especially crucial here, since you can set mines around our side's tokens."

Boom-Boom grinned, as she generated a charge with a snap of her fingers. "Music to my ears, Drake."

By then, Kori had returned, touching down gracefully. "Our terrain is somewhat hilly, friends: to the south, it is fairly flat, but grows rugged as one moves north," she reported. "Only three of our tokens are to the south, while the rest are in the mountainous regions – perched rather precariously, I may add!"

"Thanks, Kori; that's probably what we can expect on the other team's turf," Iceman said. "We'll need you to scout ahead once we move into their territory."

Kori beamed. "I am glad I could assist, friend Snow-man!"

"_Ice_man, Kori."

Kori blinked. "Is that not what I said?"

"Not really."

Kori flushed. "M-My apologies. Some parts of this tongue are still strange to me."

Husk giggled. "That's okay, Kori. You only learned English in one day."

Boom-Boom joined in. "Still, you might learn more if you smooched Superman."

Kori was horrified. "Place my lips upon the _Sky Lord?_ In front of his love, Lady Alison?" she cried. "Adultery upon _blasphemy!_"

"Okay, okay!" Boom-Boom relented. "Still, Robin was a pretty good choice."

Kori calmed. "I agree: the Bat-man and the Corpsman were too stern, Lady Diana reminded me too much of my mother, and the Bat-girl's face was too obscured, so I had no idea what she looked like."

Berzerker's eyes went buggy. "Wait…so they were _options?_"

Kori looked perplexed. "Why would they not be?"

Mimic grinned. "Holy crap, she goes _both ways,_" he murmured, discreetly extending his hand to let Berzerker high-five it. "It's official: I love this school."

Black Canary rolled her eyes.

Kori just looked _more_ confused, as she looked at her feet. "Friend, to go "both ways"…would I not need four feet?"

"Guys! We have _training_, remember?" Iceman reminded. "We're going to need to get in there fast and quietly; Blink, do you think you can 'port us past their lines?"

Slightly nervous, Blink nodded. "I-I think I can sense where the other team is gathering. I should be able to get us there!"

"Good. Once we're through, we'll need to secure the area fast, and find their tokens."

Brainiac 5 spoke up. "I may be able to assist in that, Iceman," he reported…as three disc-shaped devices budded off of his back through his nano-armour, hovering in place around him. "In my free time, I had been developing these surveillance drones. As a final experiment, I integrated them into my technorganic frame, which granted me both full control and a direct data-feed from their sensors. I am confident they can assist in surveillance."

Iceman grinned. "Nice one, Mark – they should come in pretty handy," he answered. "That pretty much covers it, guys. Defence team, get to your posts, because we may be starting any time…"

"_Simulation will commence in 3…2…1…commencing._"

"…now," Iceman finished. "Okay, Blink, that's your cue! Portal us in!" Focusing, Clarice ripped a portal in front of her, allowing half of their group to step through, while the others spread out.

Blink's portal deposited her, Iceman, Black Canary, Mimic, Kori, and Brainiac 5 in another wooded area, before it shut behind them. "Alright, guys, here we go: everyone stay alert, and keep your eyes open," Iceman instructed. "Mark, do your thing."

Nodding, Brainiac 5 gestured, and his drones split up, heading in three separate directions, while he shut his eyes, processing the visual data. "Heading further south is ill-advised," he said, as the southbound drone quickly returned. "Cannonball, Colossus, and Magma are holding position there. The east is clear of hostiles…but there are no tokens immediately nearby, either."

Iceman looked thoughtful as the eastbound drone flew back, docking with its master. "And Drone Number 3?"

Brainiac 5's brow furrowed…before he smiled. "I am detecting three tokens to the west. They appear unguarded."

Iceman grinned. "Then west it is!" With that, they quickly headed to the west of their position.

In minutes, they had reached a more open region with several rocky outcroppings…where three blue, X-shaped holograms hovered. Moving quickly, Iceman reached out and tapped one, causing it to vanish at his touch. Following suit, Kori flew to the highest one and tapped it. Blink was about to do the same, but a silver blur raced up to her and swatted her on the shoulder, sending her stumbling to the ground. "You're out!"

Spotting Quicksilver as he paused, Iceman iced himself over. "Ambush!" Reacting fast, he unleashed a constant stream of frigid air, aimed at the ground around them, to form a partial dome of ice. He was about to close the dome's top, when he saw Angel diving through the gap, heading straight for Mimic, and fired another ice-stream, forming a slide-like ice-flow that forced Angel to brake in mid-air. "Guys, we need to regroup – _ARRGGHH!_"

His order was cut off by a firework-pulse that took him in the shoulder, just as Phantom dropped her cloaking field, revealing herself and a giggling Jubilee. "Sorry, Bobby!"

Stricken, Mimic gulped. "W-What do we do?"

Black Canary grimaced. "We need to pull out of here, or we're sitting ducks!" she shouted. "Mark, send your drone ahead of us; we'll need eyes!" Brainiac 5 quickly responded, sending his drone ahead of them as the others, minus Blink and Iceman, retreated. Recovering, Angel tried to fly after them, but Kori, her eyes blazing green, was on him in seconds, grabbing him by the foot and whirling him around with a fierce battle-cry, before tossing him across the holo-forest.

Soon, they had crossed the boundary and were back in home territory. "Okay," Black Canary breathed. "Blink and Iceman will be back up in about a minute. We can grab Wolfsbane before we go back in – she can sniff out any ambushes…"

"I fear we have other concerns, Black Canary," Brainiac 5 reported, as his drone docked with him. "I am detecting a highly localized spatial inversion, consistent with…"

His warning was drowned out by a flash of light, which dropped Dust, Sunspot, Armour, Toad, and a slightly tired Leap a few feet in front of them. "…with Lila's teleporting?" Black Canary hazarded.

"Correct."

Catching her breath, Lila looked stricken as she spotted them. "Crap! Dust, keep us covered!" she instructed. "Sunspot, you're our air-cover! You and Armour have to keep them pinned while Toad and I grab tokens!" At once, Dust whirled herself into a sandstorm, engulfing Black Canary and her team, but Dinah took a deep breath and let loose a sonic scream, which blew Dust's tempest back by ten feet, revealing an armoured Hisako charging towards them. Assuming battle-mode, Brainiac 5 opened up with his force-cannons, but Armour's shell easily shrugged them off, allowing her to close enough to grapple with him.

Her eyes wide as she saw her comrades in trouble, Kori darted out of the sky, only to get grazed by one of Sunspot's plasma-blasts. Rising into the air to intercept her, Roberto first thought he'd tagged her, but the furious emerald glow of her eyes told him otherwise. With a shriek of fury, Kori let loose an energy-bolt of her own, slamming Sunspot full in the chest and sending him falling. Dust quickly turned her sandstorm skyward, keeping Kori disoriented.

Brainiac 5's processors were buzzing as he scanned Hisako's armoured frame, looking for a weak-spot even as she twisted him into _another_ throw, slamming him through a tree. His internal warnings were blaring – _45 percent power and falling; mean time to Battle-Mode failure two minutes_ – but he still struggled to his feet, as Hisako stalked towards him…

_Alert: anomaly detected in construct field-integrity. Probability of field-collapse at 0.75._

Mark's optics were wide as his scanners finally spotted a possible weak-spot in Hisako's armour, directly between her shoulder-blades. "Mimic!" he shouted. "Be ready to down her!" As Armour approached, Brainiac 5 fired one last cannon-shot, which seared past her…and hit the tree above her, sending a lone branch falling down, to land square on her back between her shoulders. Hisako cried out as her armour's strength suddenly dipped, allowing Brainiac 5 to close, catching her in a headlock and spinning her around, to ram his fist into her weak spot, shattering her shell.

With Hisako exposed, Mimic moved fast, running over to touch her face. Instantly, Armour went limp, while a blue energy-shell surrounded Rudy, who just grinned. "Oh, yeah; _that's_ what I'm talking about!"

While their attackers were busy, Leap quickly 'ported herself to a nearby red token, touching and collecting it. "Okay, that's two! Toad, have you found any, yet?"

Toad was hopping up some rocky cliffs towards a third token. "Yeah, I see one! Just give me a second to..!"

_BOOM!_

Toad's misstep triggered a miniature explosion that knocked him back on his butt, stunned, but unhurt, while a grinning Boom-Boom peered out from behind a tree. "Sorry, Todd; should've watched where you were stepping!"

Taken by surprise, Leap barely had enough time to 'port away from a feral Wolfsbane and an armoured Husk as they ambushed her from behind two more trees. 'Porting blindly, she got clear of their attack…only to back into Blob, who grabbed her and scooped her under his arm. "Sorry, Lila; you're out."

Lila's nose scrunched. "_EEEWW!_" she cried. "Okay, fine, Fred! I'm _out_, so put me _down_, or at least use some deodorant! _Gross!_"

Fred blinked in confusion, before sniffing his free arm. "What?"

Squinting through Dust's sandstorm, Black Canary let loose another scream, which passed close enough to the storm's eye to stun Dust, allowing Kori to fly away. Beaming, Kori looked back at her teammate. "My thanks, friend Dinah! Please allow me to assist friends Bobby and Clarice once they have – _EEEP!_" Kori was sent tumbling from the sky as a red-blue streak blazed past her, right before Superman landed hard, just a few feet away, his landing shaking the ground.

Black Canary grimaced. "Oh, _crap._"

Dazed, but not out, Dust turned her sandstorm on the Man of Tomorrow, engulfing him completely. Undeterred, Superman exhaled a slow wave of frost-breath, turning the gold of Sooraya's dust-cloud white with frost, until the cold was too great for her, forcing her to banish her storm, leaving her sitting on a rock-outcrop, lightly shivering. As Superman turned away from Dust, Mimic grinned, flexing his armoured fists. "Go grab some tokens, guys! I've got this one!"

Dinah was aghast as her teammate charged at Superman. "Jones, you _pinhead!_ Get back here!" she cried, but Rudy ignored her. "Dammit! Mark, help me cover him!" Brainiac 5 nodded, quickly moving with her to cover their comrade.

Superman had only just turned towards Mimic, an eyebrow raised, as Rudy swung at him. Ducking under Mimic's initial attack easily, Superman met his follow-up punch with a palm-block to his knuckles, stopping his momentum cold, before twisting the motion into a throw. As Rudy's armoured bulk skidded across the ground, Black Canary let loose a sonic scream, forcing Superman to dart aside instead of pressing the attack on Rudy. Brainiac 5 was instantly beside her, following her attack with a salvo from his force-cannons, but Superman shrugged off the shots by blocking them with his arm, before stomping his foot into the ground to create a seismic wave which sent them both stumbling.

His eyes wide, Blob dropped Lila, and hurried towards his teammates. "Hang on, guys! I'll be right – _OWW!_" Stopping, he looked over his shoulder, where he found Krypto, his teeth chomping the seat of his pants. "_Hey!_ Cut that out!"

As Fred reached around to pull the Superdog off his butt – which only caused Krypto to swivel out of his reach – Lila suppressed a guilty chuckle. "Careful, Krypto – you don't know where that rear has been!"

With Mark and Dinah disabled for the next minute, Superman was about to press his attack, but his hearing caught a noise on the wind. Turning away, he started to take flight, but the recovered Mimic grabbed the edge of his cape with an armoured fist, yanking him back down. "I don't think so, Blue-Boy – we're not done, yet!"

Grounded, Superman blocked Mimic's punch with an annoyed stare. "Word of advice, Rudy," he said, twisting his arm so that he was now behind the boy's energy-shell. "When you're picking powers to copy, _try_ not to pick one that just had its _flaw_ advertised!" And with that, he fired a single punch into the spot that Mark had struck to fell Hisako. Like magic, Rudy's armour shattered, sending him falling to the ground. Dazed, Mimic could only groan as Superman stood over him. "Get the picture?"

Blinking his eyes to clear them, Mimic smirked. "As a matter of fact, yeah!" Jumping to his feet as fast as he could, he grabbed Superman by the neck.

Superman just stared back at him, an eyebrow raised. "And what was the point of _that?_"

Rudy's smirk collapsed. "_Huh?_" he cried. "But…I thought…why didn't it work?"

Eyes narrowed as he realized Rudy's plan, Superman let loose a small puff of gale-breath, blowing Mimic back to his teammates. "I wouldn't try that again, buster," he warned, as he turned to go…

…but he needn't have bothered. "_Simulation complete._"

At the computer's declaration, the holographic projectors powered down, banishing the forested illusion and returning the Danger Room to normal, revealing all the others, including a dismayed Havok, Polaris, and Colossus alongside a triumphant-looking Iceman and Blink. Leap looked confused. "Who won?"

Iceman's grin widened. "_We_ did!" he declared. "Once our minute was up, Blink and I portalled across your guys' turf to grab the rest of your tokens while you guys were busy!"

Superman nodded. "Why did you think I was trying to leave, just now?"

Havok sighed. "Sorry, guys."

Beaming, Kori raced over, to catch Dinah and Mark in a hug. "Friends, we are victorious!"

Dinah coughed. "Yeah, we got that, Kori."

"You all did great, guys," Superman said, "although there are a couple things some of you should be aware of."

Having since recovered, Armour looked ashamed. "I-I believe I know what you speak of, Kal-_sensei_," she murmured. "I-I allowed Mark-san and Rudy-san to defeat me, which hampered the rest of my team…"

"From what I've heard, Hisako, you didn't know about your armour's weak spot any more than Mark did, until now," Superman reassured her. "Now you're aware of it and can adjust – that's what training's all about." He glanced to Brainiac 5. "Your using those mini-drones to scout the immediate area was a good call, Mark."

Brainiac 5 smiled. "I am currently working on expanding their functionality, possibly including defensive or offensive configurations," he replied.

"Sounds good." Glancing to Dinah, Superman's expression turned wary. "Black Canary, your decision to pull back to regroup was the right call, and you did well coordinating zone-defence, but what worries me is that you left Iceman and Blink in hostile territory; this time, it worked out, but…"

Frowning, Black Canary spoke up. "I wouldn't have left them in _real_ hostile ground, if that's what you're saying," she said. "Bobby and Clarice weren't _really_ hurt, so I knew Clarice could portal them both to safety. Otherwise, I'd have told Mark to provide cover while Rudy and I got them out!"

Superman seemed to accept that, before he glanced to Kori. "For future sessions, Kori, you might want to tone down the aggressiveness, a bit. These are your friends, not _real_ hostile combatants."

Kori gasped. "G-Great One, please forgive me!" she cried, before turning to Angel. "Friend Warren, I did not injure you, did I?"

Angel stretched his wing. "I'm a little sore, but nothing major."

As Kori breathed a relieved sigh, Superman turned to Mimic. "That leaves you, Rudy," he said. "What was that, just now?"

Mimic shrugged. "So I wanted to see how I stacked up against the gold standard…"

"…while your teammates were getting clobbered?" Superman finished for him. "They had to drop zone-defence to bail you out, Rudy…for the _second_ time. What were you thinking?"

Mimic's eyes narrowed. "I thought I could handle it!" he shot back. "And what are you harping on me, for? How many times have _you_ gone solo on _your_ team?"

"_Never_, Mimic: when the League has a plan, we _all_ stick to it. We don't endanger our teammates by taking unnecessary risks," Superman countered. "And that leads me to what you tried to pull at the end."

"What, the whole power-copying foul-up?"

Havok groaned. "Dude, Superman's got some kinda immunity to powers like that."

Mimic grimaced. "Oops." He scratched his head. "My bad."

Superman folded his arms. "No kidding," he added. "And if it had _worked?_"

Rudy blinked. "Well…then I'd have had your powers, I guess," he said. "I'd planned on grabbing the rest of the tokens and winning the simulation, once I had 'em."

"Just like that?" Superman asked. "Rudy, it took me _years_ – and more than my fair share of property-damage – to get the hang of my powers. If your plan had worked, you could've collapsed the entire foundation of the Institute!" His eyes narrowed. "That's why you have to use your _head_ before you even _think_ of using your powers!"

"_Okay, Flyboy: Copycat gets the picture. Time's up, so get yer butts back up here._"

As the entire group headed back up to the control-room, Madelyn smiled in greeting. "I thought you all did well," she stated, "wouldn't you agree, James?"

Several members of X-Force shared gaping looks, the same thought on their minds: '_James?_'

Even more astounding, Logan didn't contradict her. "Eh. Seen worse."

To break the ensuing awkward silence, Shadowcat spoke up. "So, where's the Professor?" she asked. "I thought he said he was going to be here."

"I'm sure he thought so, too, Katherine," Madelyn answered. "From what Hank mentioned, he received a phone-call prior to the session…and since he is not here, I can surmise it was most urgent."

Avalanche blinked. "Seriously?"

Siryn looked curious. "What could distress the Professor so?"

Rogue snorted. "Oh, let's see: Apocalypse, yer dad, Fury, those Cadmus jackasses, Shaw Junior, and that's just what Ah can think of, right now."

Gambit looked wary. "Meanin' no disrespect, _chere_, all dat stuff de Professor already _know_ 'bout. Chances are, it took somethin' _new_ to knock 'im for a loop."

"You are unfortunately correct, Remy."

Professor Xavier's strained voice answered him just as their mentor came through the door. As he saw the Professor's face, Cyclops' eyes widened behind his visor. "Professor, are you okay?"

Phoenix nodded. "Y-You look like you've seen a ghost!"

Charles' voice remained strained. "I…may very well have," he answered. "Just now, I received a call from an old friend and colleague of mine, Moira McTaggert."

Wolfsbane instantly perked up. "_Moira_ called?" she exclaimed. "I-Is she coming here?"

Charles managed a smile. "I'm afraid not, Rahne."

Polaris looked perplexed. "You know who he's talking about?"

"Aye," Rahne said with a nod. "Before coming here, 'twas Moira who found me roamin' 'round Loch Shiel. I stayed with her an' her students before she told the Professor about me." Looking back to Charles, her expression turned worried. "Is she alright? Is something wrong with Brian, or Betsy?"

Charles shook his head. "No, Rahne; everything is fine with Moira and her charges," he answered. "Moira called to inform me of…a few things."

"Like what?" Spyke asked.

Charles closed his eyes. "I'm afraid I can't get into that yet, Evan; not until I'm certain," he answered. "I will, however, be heading overseas with Logan and Madelyn to meet with her, and I would like some of you to accompany me, especially Scott, Dinah, and Anita."

Dinah arched an eyebrow. "Why us?"

"I cannot…"

"…get into that yet," Cyclops finished. "Well, Professor, whatever it is, I'm in."

"As am I," Phoenix said.

Wolfsbane nodded. "And me!"

Siryn crossed her arms. "I would prefer to know more, Professor, but if you deem it serious, I agree."

Black Canary wasn't about to back down if _that_ brat was going. "Fine."

Superman looked worried. "Did you want me or any of the League to tag along, Professor?"

Charles waved him down. "The thought is appreciated, Kal, but I would prefer to keep this fairly low-key, at least for now." He looked to the others. "Since we will be departing within the hour, the rest of the morning-sessions are cancelled."

At that revelation, Nightcrawler grinned. "Vell, at least some good came of zhis!"

Superman still looked wary at the Professor's expression. "Let's hope it stays that way, Kurt."

XXXXXXXX

_Undisclosed location_

"My Pharaoh?"

Upon his throne, his chamber dark except for holographic video-screens, Apocalypse glanced over his shoulder. "_I had decreed I was not to be disturbed, my Horseman._"

Contrite, Exodus bowed. "I beg forgiveness, my Master!" he pleaded. "It is only…I am confused…"

"…_as to why we hesitate,_" Apocalypse finished, easily reading his thoughts. "_I do not wage war without knowledge of my enemy, War, nor without a worthy stratagem._" He returned his gaze to the screens. "_Than'al currently seeks new recruits, Ozymandias seeks my next stronghold, and I study those that would oppose me._"

Exodus bowed. "Of course, my Pharaoh."

Glancing at several images of several costumed fools – the "Avengers," led by that shield-bearing dolt – Apocalypse only sneered. His scowl turned more contemptuous at a look at four blue-clad individuals: the "Fantastic Four." "_Much has changed since my kingdom's fall,_" he mused, "_but none so much as this._"

His next words came as the screens showed images of the Justice League, their Watchtower, the crystalline stronghold upon the polar ice, and one image of the space-weapon they commanded, before showing a montage of Superman photos. Apocalypse's expression darkened even more. "_The fact that this whelp, blessed with power comparable to even mine, wields it in service of the weak…disturbs me._" He stood up, and walked away in disgust. "_Even in command of so marvelous a weapon, even in the face of impudent weaklings that would disparage him…_" He could not finish, for the very thought of it was inconceivable.

In his kingdom, had any common dreg _dared_ suggest he, the Pharaoh, was wrong…he would have torn them and their family _apart_ for such audacity.

Equally stricken, Exodus nodded. "It boggles the mind, my Master."

Apocalypse folded his arms. "_Once I dispense with the brat, the natural order will be restored,_" he mused, as a smile crossed his face. "_And perhaps soon._"

At those words, the darkness of his chamber was dispelled by an opening door, as Ozymandias and Sinister both walked in. "Your theory proved true, o Pharaoh!" Ozymandias exclaimed, jubilant. "The image within your throne was a map! It led us to _another_ pyramid!"

Apocalypse smirked. "_As I have foreseen._"

Sinister's usual toothy grin was present. "If there are indeed more such strongholds, Master, then you indeed have less to fear from the Justice League's technological advantage."

Apocalypse scoffed. "_From what I have seen, my vizier, I need fear nothing. The fools hesitate even with so marvelous a weapon._"

Sinister bowed. "Of course, o Pharaoh. My apologies. Under your rule, I am sure that weapon will be put to better use." His smile returned. "Still, it does make one wonder: where did such strongholds come from? I have seen nothing like them on Earth, in my lifetime…"

"_It matters not, Than'al._" Apocalypse turned back to his throne. "_You have no other news?_"

Sinister's grin grew. "In truth, Master, I do!" he reported. "You decreed that we seek out worthy recruits for your army…and I have found one!"

Intrigued, Apocalypse turned around, an eyebrow arched. "_Oh?_"

Sinister nodded. "Perhaps my Pharaoh may enlist a _second_ Horseman."

Exodus cringed at that.

Noting the boy's reaction, Apocalypse chuckled. "_Fret not, War. Each of my Horseman serves a different function for me. Your place is secure._"

Cowed, Exodus lowered his head. "Yes, my Master."

His smile fading to wariness, Apocalypse turned his gaze back to Sinister. "_Have a care, my vizier: such a boast can be dangerous. Should your choice prove unwise, I will be __**most**__ displeased._"

Sinister was unfazed. "Had I not been certain, o Pharaoh, I would not have said so," he parried. "The boy's abilities should prove useful…as will his pedigree."

Eyes narrowed, Apocalypse extended his hand towards Sinister. "_Speak not in riddles, Than'al. Show me._" With that, he reached into Sinister's mind, sifting through his vizier's secrets…and found the answer.

Laughing with dark jubilation, Apocalypse released Sinister's thoughts. "_You speak true, my vizier! The Haller whelp will be an asset, against both the Kryptonian and the Xavier imbecile!_"

Still dazed from his master's presence in his head, Sinister steadied himself against the wall. "My Pharaoh…honours me with his words."

Thumping his chest, Apocalypse moved to his throne, sitting back within it. "_We wait no longer,_" he declared. "_My Horseman, you will take Ozymandias to the second stronghold, and make ready for my arrival. Than'al, you will accompany me to collect my new Horseman._"

Exodus' hand moved to his chest in a salute. "I obey!" With that, he moved to Ozymandias' side, teleporting them both away in a flash of light.

Chuckling, Sinister moved to his master's side. "I think it only fair I warn you, my Pharaoh," he said. "By now, Xavier, too, knows of the Haller boy, and is surely en route to collect him."

Apocalypse scoffed. "_Then let him,_" he replied. "_Should the fool try and stop me, he will suffer the same fate as the idiot Lensherr. Should his brat not heed my offer, he will have proven himself unworthy, and will fall with his sire._" And with those words, Apocalypse tapped a panel on his throne, causing it to vanish in a light-flare, taking him and Sinister far away.

XXXXXXXX

_Bayville High_

"So what do you think this lady McTaggert wanted to talk to Professor X about?"

As she finished gathering her books for morning class, Wanda closed her locker before turning towards her boyfriend. "I have no idea, Todd. I'd never even heard of her, before now."

Todd scratched his head as he walked with her to class. "Just figured I'd ask, Sweetums. I'd thought it was something me an' Fred missed, on account of being new." His expression brightened as he looked around the hallways. "I swear, this place's like brand-new, without Grey's dumbass ex around!"

Wanda had to smile. "Well, you're right about that."

By then, Kitty, Lance, Fred, and a human-form K'imm – or "Kimberly Jones" – had joined them. "You guys noticed, too?" Kitty asked with a grin.

Wanda nodded. "It's a new age."

Looking around, K'imm seemed puzzled. "Wasn't Pietro transferring back here, sometime?"

"He was, but I don't think the Professor's finished the paperwork, yet," Lance said.

"Well, let's hope he gets it done soon: Pietro's got a _lot_ to catch up on, as it is!" Kitty added.

Fred looked grim. "Man, that's gonna suck. Doing stuff like Physics is tough enough for _one_ year."

Lance paled. "I hear that, Fred. I'd be lost if Kitty hadn't tutored me."

Kitty beamed, as she hugged her boyfriend. "No problem!"

Todd looked a bit embarrassed. "Yeah, about that…mind givin' me a little help there?" he asked. "It's just…I kinda suck at Physics, and I'll need a better grade to get my GPA up enough for my college application."

Both Kitty and Lance looked surprised. "You're applying to college?" Lance asked. "First I'm hearing, man."

Todd scratched his head. "I just…wanted to be a bug-expert; it's a pipe-dream."

Kitty suppressed a smile. "For you, wouldn't that be more of a Nutrition program?"

Todd frowned. "Har har, Pryde. Hilarious." He turned serious. "It started with me wanting to know about what bugs were good eatin', but it grew from there."

Wanda chuckled. "So you never chomped a ladybug since that first incident?"

Todd shuddered. "Heck no, Cuddlebumps."

As they rounded a corner, they came upon Rudy at his locker, gathering his books. Kitty waved as she spotted him. "Hey, Rudy."

Looking up, Rudy half-waved, his expression more than a bit sour. "Hey."

Lance arched an eyebrow. "What flew up your butt, Jones?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing," Rudy answered. "It's just…today's session."

K'imm caught on. "You're upset about Kal having to correct you?" she asked. "He _had_ to, Rudy; if you'd done that on a real mission, you could've gotten hurt, or worse."

Rudy frowned. "I get that much, K'imm," he said. "But did he _have_ to do it in _front_ of everyone, including Alison?"

Wanda groaned. "Jones, give it _up_, already," she said. "It's getting creepy."

Kitty nodded. "Aly has been head-over-heels for Kal since _before_ he was Superman," she added. "She's not going to just toss all that history away for somebody she doesn't even know."

Rudy scowled. "So just because he's the resident heavy-hitter, he gets the superhero career _and_ the bombshell girlfriend? How's that fair?"

"Whoa, dude: if you think that, you're not giving _either_ of them enough credit," Lance admonished. "From one guy to another, just _move on…_"

"Stupid…_locker! URRRGGHH!_"

Drawn by that female shout, the entire group turned to the other side of the hall, where a shapely, delicately-framed girl of 15, in blue jeans and a red t-shirt, with long, wavy blond hair and green eyes, was struggling with her lock. With a friendly smile, Kitty walked up to her. "Locker trouble?"

The girl never took her eyes from her lock. "Understatement of the _century!_" she cried. "I'm gonna be late on the first class of my first day because of this _stupid_ thing!"

Kitty chuckled. "Allow me." With that, she phased herself into the locker, picked up the girl's books, and phased out again. "Here you go."

Her tunnel-vision broken, the girl was wide-eyed as she looked at Kitty, realizing who she was. "You…you're..?"

"Kitty Pryde, Senior, Xavier Institute."

As Kitty extended her hand, the girl slowly shook it. "C-Cassandra Sandsmark, F-Freshman – I-I go by Cassie."

Kitty winced. "Ouch."

Cassie nodded. "_Tell_ me about it. What's worse, me and my Mom just moved here."

"You poor thing." Glancing at Cassie's textbooks, Kitty gulped. "Math with Mr. Thompson?"

Cassie looked wary. "Yeah..?"

"_Don't_ fall asleep," Kitty warned, "and do _not_ skip your homework, even _once_: not only will he nail you for it if he catches you – and he usually will – without the practice, you'll be totally lost."

Cassie's eyes were wide. "Wow, thanks!"

Kitty shrugged. "My first days as a freshman totally sucked – I get it," she answered. "See you later?"

Cassie nodded. "Sure!" With that, she hurried off.

As Cassie left, Lance arched an eyebrow at Rudy, and craned his neck in her direction. "Case in point, Jones."

"Huh? Oh!" Rudy quickly understood, as he turned and hurried after Cassie. "Hey, Cassie, wait up! If you needed any help..!"

As Rudy ran off, Kitty didn't look too impressed. "_Lance!_ What the hell?"

Lance blinked. "What?"

"What do you mean "what"?" Kitty exclaimed. "You practically _sicced_ Rudy on poor Cassie!"

"Kitty, all I did was point out someone Rudy _might_ want to get to know instead of bugging Aly," Lance countered. "Who knows? They might hit it off, or they might not."

Some of Kitty's annoyance faded, but not all of it. "You could've at least given her a heads-up," she said. "Something about Rudy just…doesn't sit right with me."

Todd chuckled. "Hey, Wanda used to feel that way about _me_, yo."

Wanda half-blushed. "Past gross-out issues aside, Todd, you were – are – a sweet guy," she corrected. "Rudy's starting to sound like a glory-hog – like he's here for the wrong reasons."

"Well, then it's probably a good thing that he _is_ here," Lance said, "so the Professor and Big Blue can straighten him out."

K'imm looked worried. "Let's just hope they can," she mused. Before anyone else could speak, the bell rang, prompting them to head to class.

XXXXXXXX

_U.K. airspace, several miles off Scottish coast_

"So, who exactly is this Moira McTaggert?"

As he flew the Blackbird across the Atlantic, Wolverine glanced back at Siryn to answer her inquiry. "It's like Chuck said, Princess: she's an old pal of his from back in the day. Simple as that."

Siryn wasn't completely convinced. "Then why have none of us heard about her, until now?"

At the co-pilot's seat, Cyclops looked equally intrigued. "To be honest, Professor, I'm curious about that, too."

When Professor Xavier, still deep in thought, didn't answer, Madelyn spoke up. "Based on what I can gather from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s file on her, Scott, she's been a colleague of Charles' since the days when he and Magneto were still friends," she offered. "Initially, Charles had intended to build his Institute in the U.K., but after his falling out with Erik, he came to the States, while Moira stayed behind. From what little I know, she's assembled her own mutant-based covert task-force, under the direct supervision of both the Queen and MI6."

Black Canary blinked. "Mutant secret agents?"

"That's the idea, Big Mouth," Wolverine replied.

Phoenix still looked puzzled. "Then why haven't we heard about them, until now?"

"_Covert_ task-force, Jeannie," Madelyn said. "There was a reason why the U.K. didn't ask for much help during the Kree-Skrull invasion."

Wolfsbane was all smiles. "I cannae wait for all ye to meet 'em!" she exclaimed. "Brian and Betsy are both awesome; Meggan's so nice, an' Sean..!"

Cyclops chuckled. "We get it, Rahne. I'm sure we'll all have a lot to talk about."

Black Canary smirked. "Provided Princess is on her best behaviour."

Siryn did not look amused. "Interesting you should say that," she remarked, "considering that would have been my advice to _you._"

Incensed, Black Canary was about to retort, but Rahne interrupted her. "Hey…have either of ye noticed that ye both look a bit alike?"

Siryn and Canary both sputtered. "Like _hell!_" Dinah shouted.

"There is _no_ need for insults, Rahne," Anita coolly replied.

Wolfsbane wilted. "But I wasn' insulting ye; ye really _do_ look alike!"

Looking back, Phoenix arched an eyebrow. "Huh…now that you mention it…"

Siryn's glare was warning. "_Jean._"

"What? It's true!"

The Professor suddenly spoke up. "We're here." As he said that, the fog-bank the Blackbird had been flying through suddenly broke, revealing a fair-sized island, several miles off the coast of Scotland, with an outpost roughly the size of the Institute built in the middle of its central forest. Taking the Blackbird in, Wolverine guided it down onto the landing-pad. As everyone disembarked, they found a middle-aged woman, tall and lean, with long, dark chestnut hair tied in a long ponytail, and green eyes behind glasses, clad in a silver jumpsuit and white lab-coat, waiting for them.

Beaming, Wolfsbane raced towards her, all but pouncing on her with a hug. "_Moira!_"

The woman – clearly Moira – smiled back, returning the hug. "Rahne! Och, dear girl, does me heart good t'see ye!" she exclaimed. Glancing towards the others, her smile softened as she saw the Professor. "'Tis been a while, Charlie."

Charles smiled back, rolling close enough to accept a hug from her. "It's been _too_ long, Moira," he agreed. "I admit, I should have kept in touch more, but the last few years…"

"..were outright mad," Moira finished. "Ye needn't explain, Charles. This past year was proof enough." Looking at the others, she chuckled. "Well, I recognize ye, Logan," she added, "an' these two can only be Scott an' Jean; as for the rest…I assume ye've done some recruitin', Charlie?"

Charles nodded. "Moira, these are my new instructor, Madelyn Pryor, former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and two of my newer students, Anita LeRoux and Dinah Lance; Madelyn, Anita, Dinah, Dr. Moira McTaggert."

Moira blinked as she turned to Madelyn. "One o' Fury's, ye were?" she asked. "Poor lass."

Madelyn chuckled. "I managed."

Giving Moira one last squeeze, Wolfsbane stepped back. "Is everyone still here?"

"Aye, lass, an' they're all excited t'see ye – Meggan's been jumpin' off walls," Moira replied, before looking to the others. "Well, everyone, allow me t' welcome ye to Muir Island, and Camelot Base."

Cyclops blinked. "Why "Camelot"?"

Moira chuckled. "Seemed fittin'," she answered. "Since all o' us were part o' the sword-edge Her Majesty called on t' deal with mutant-related crises in the U.K., we took t' callin' ourselves Excalibur."

Wolverine snorted. "Figured you'd use something with an X."

"Logan," Charles gently admonished, before turning back to Moira. "Is _everyone_ here? Including..?"

Moira looked grave. "Aye, Charles, she's here, too."

Cyclops looked confused. "Who's here? Professor, what's this all about?"

Charles looked pained. "I…would very much rather not say yet, Scott; not until I am sure."

Moira managed a smile. "Why don't I introduce all ye to everyone?" she suggested, beckoning them inside. No-one argued, as they all followed Moira into Camelot Base.

As they walked through the silver-metal corridors of the base, Phoenix looked mildly bewildered. "Is it just me, or does this place remind anyone of the Institute?"

Charles chuckled. "I think it's hardly surprising, Jean. Moira and I collaborated extensively on the layout for the Institute's lower levels," he said. "It follows that she would use a similar design."

Quickly brushing several of her bangs over her face to conceal a mild blush, Moira cleared her throat. "'Tis only the layout that's similar, I'm afraid – ye won't be findin' a copy of Cerebro here," she confessed. "My brain is pathetically human, an' the one telepath on our team hasn't the same strength to perform the kinds of scans Charlie's used to."

Black Canary whistled. "Recruiting must be tough."

Reaching a door, Moira shrugged as she tapped a panel to open it. "We make do." At Moira's touch, the door slid open, revealing a chamber similar to the Institute's War Room…albeit with a round table at the center. Sitting at the table were four others, who rose as Moira walked in.

Spotting Wolfsbane, one of the four – a tall, shapely young woman, a couple years Rahne's senior, with long blond hair, green eyes, and elfin ears, in a golden leotard – instantly brightened, all but leaping at her with a hug. "_RAHNE!_"

Wolfsbane laughed, as she returned the hug. "Hi, Meggan!" she greeted back. "Sorry I've not written more…"

Chuckling, the lean-framed young man with short, reddish-blond hair and brown eyes, in a black-yellow bodysuit, walked up to his teammate. "Let the girl breathe, Megs," he chided, with an Irish accent.

Meggan stuck out her tongue. "Bite me, Cassidy."

Wiggling free of Meggan's hug, Wolfsbane blushed. "H-Hi, Sean."

Grinning, Sean winked at her. "Been helluva year, eh?"

Standing up, the tallest man, several years older than Sean, with a blond cru-cut and blue eyes, in a black bodysuit emblazoned with a Union Jack pattern on the chest, cleared his throat. "As nice as it is to see you again, Rahne, I do believe we have more dire matters to address."

With a frown, the lithe young woman next to him, in a similar bodysuit, and the same blue eyes and boy-cut hair, elbowed him. "Brian, it's been _ages_ since we've seen Rahne!"

"That doesn't change the severity of the situation, Betsy."

With a half-snort, Sean gestured to his teammates. "As ye can see, not much has changed: Megs is still bubbly, Brian's still the stiffest git in the Isles, and his sister still argues with him."

Betsy frowned at Sean. "Sod off, Banshee."

Rahne was barely suppressing giggles, prompting Moira to speak up. "Enough o' that, all of ye," she scolded. "Charles, these are me charges: Brian "Captain Britain" Braddock – the UK's answer to Captain Rogers – his sister Elizabeth "Psylocke," Sean "Banshee" Cassidy, an' Meggan; Brian, Betsy, Sean, Meggan, these are Charles Xavier, Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Anita LeRoux, Dinah Lance, Logan, an' Madelyn Pryor."

Charles smiled warmly. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you – Moira has spoken highly of you all, especially after your key role in Britain's defence."

Smiling back, Brian shook his hand. "It was nothing of special note, sir – for Queen and Country," he replied, which caused Sean to roll his eyes. "Dreadful trick, that Zod fellow played."

Meggan looked stricken. "How could he have just…lied to all of you, like that?"

Scott chuckled. "I wouldn't worry too much about him – from what Kal told us, he got his."

"Kal? Who's he, one of your…oh." Sean caught on. "The big fella, eh?"

Phoenix nodded. "Pretty much." She looked around. "As nice as it is to meet you all, why exactly are we here?"

Moira blinked. "Did Charles not tell ye?"

Charles looked guilty. "I…I could not believe it myself."

Moira nodded sadly. "I fear she did nae lie, Charlie."

Charles' hands scrunched the material of his trousers. "Is she here?"

Siryn looked wary. "Who?"

"Aye, Charles." Moira gestured to a nearby door. "She arrived, half an hour ago."

Looking angrier than Scott had ever seen him, Charles rolled to the door, opening it. "Is it true, Gabrielle?"

Sitting in a lobby behind the door, a woman, roughly Charles' age, with mid-length dark-blonde hair, clad in a light-blue skirt and white blouse, stood as she saw him. "C-Charles?"

Charles' eyes narrowed fiercely, as his telepathic command roared through the room. '_ANSWER me, Gabrielle!_'

Wolfsbane flinched. "P-Professor, what's going on?"

Brian gulped. "I gather this is uncharacteristic of him?"

"Completely," Madelyn confirmed.

Wolverine was instantly at Charles' side. "_Cool_ it, Chuck; _I'm_ the one with the monopoly on berserker-rage, remember?"

Charles took a deep breath, reigning himself in, before repeating his inquiry. "Gabrielle. Is it true?"

The woman – Gabrielle – looked away.

Charles almost fell out of his wheelchair. "My _God_, Gabrielle, how could you have not told me?"

Gabrielle finally spoke, glaring at him. "How could _you_ have not _known_, Charles?" she hissed. "You've spent the past four _years_ tracking students for your little "school," and you never _once_ thought to look for your own _son?_"

The entire room went silent enough to hear a pin drop.

Black Canary spoke first. "Did…did she just say what I _think_ she just said?"

"Aye," Moira confirmed. "Everyone, this is Gabrielle Haller, Charlie's ex-wife."

Phoenix was dumbfounded. "Professor…you were _married?_"

At Charles' silence, Gabrielle smirked. "I see I'm not the only one keeping secrets."

Charles' anger returned. "Don't turn this on me, Gabrielle! You had no _right_ to keep this from me!" he thundered. "What did you tell him..?"

"Nothing he didn't figure out on his own, Charles!" Gabrielle shot back. "By the time he was 14, he knew enough that you'd abandoned us; I just filled in the reason!"

Sean groaned. "Aw, _feck_ – don't tell me we're in the middle of a bloody family telly-drama…"

Charles gripped the armrests of his chair hard. "I will not apologize for working for the sake of mutants..!"

"…even if it meant neglecting your _family!_"

Wolverine groaned. "I'm guessing that's not the reason we're here," he muttered, "because this sounds more like a job for a marriage-counsellor."

"Unfortunately, no," Moira said. "Recently, we've detected anomalous X-Gene activity from the private school David – Charles' son – attends, which coincides with his own X-Gene becoming active."

Cyclops started to understand. "Somebody's stalking him."

Charles looked pained. "Who?"

"We haven't the foggiest," Brian answered. "If anything, we hoped you might know."

Gabrielle looked furious. "It was bad enough you abandoned us to chase your idiotic dream, Charles, but now somebody is after our son because of..!"

Charles had already turned away from her, rolling back towards the entrance. "Moira, please send the location of David's school to the Blackbird," he said, ignoring Gabrielle's impending tirade completely. "If whoever this is plans on trying anything, I want to be there when he does."

Moira nodded. "Of course, Charlie; my team will accompany ye and assist," she said. "Excalibur, ye know what to do."

Brian nodded, sliding his suit's cowl down over his face. "You needn't worry, Doctor McTaggert: we'll apprehend this ruffian and be back in time for tea and biscuits."

Wolverine snorted. "What is it with Brits and their tea?"

Madelyn stifled a faint laugh. "They would probably ask the same of you and your beer."

"We haven't _time_ for this!" Charles insisted. "We must move, _now!_" No-one argued, as the eight of them, plus Excalibur, headed to the Blackbird, leaving behind a grave-looking Moira, and a dejected Gabrielle.

XXXXXXXX

_Daily Planet, Metropolis_

"_So how's work going?_"

Smiling as he walked through the doors of the Daily Planet, Clark kept his cell-phone to his ear as he headed to the elevator. "Fine so far, Aly; I just got in."

"_Oh. Duh,_" Alison answered. "_Any big cases, yet?_"

"Nothing since the Dheronian invasion," Clark answered, tapping the button for his floor. "I think Mr. Urich is trying to get Chloe and I acclimatized."

Alison snorted. "_As if you and Chloe are rookies._"

Clark chuckled. "Hard-hitting news is one thing, baby. Dealing with Cat is another."

Even through the phone, Clark could _feel_ Alison's tone grow icy. "_How you've managed to avoid eye-blasting that gossip-mongering bimbo is beyond me!_"

Clark changed the subject fast. "Actually, Cat's not the big problem, other than the odd bit of teasing; the toughest one to deal with is Ken Lombard, the sports editor. He just transferred in," he muttered. "Think 'high-school quarterback mentality' and you'll have a starting point."

Alison shuddered. "_I'd rather not; just seeing that tool Matthews around campus is nauseating enough,_" she replied. "_How he got in is beyond me!_"

Clark couldn't argue. "How are your classes?"

Alison groaned piteously. "_Horrible!_" she lamented. "_Never mind the fact that I have to cram for three midterms in one week, I just found out about the outline for next semester's Fashion course! I'm going to have to come up with an entire design-line of my own!_"

Clark's eyes went wide. "They expect you to stitch together a whole wardrobe?"

"_Nothing THAT inhumane, baby…at least not yet,_" Alison said. "_But they'll expect our preliminary sketches on the first day back!_"

"You'll be fine, Aly," Clark soothed. "You have an eye for design: just look at your own uniform and Kara's!"

Alison's tired smile was audible. "_Thanks, Clarkie,_" she cooed. "_I'd better let you go; call me lunchtime?_"

"You bet," Clark promised. "And tonight, why don't we have a movie-night? We can crash on the couch, and I can give you a shoulder-rub." He grinned. "And if things proceed from there…"

Alison giggled. "_Clark Joseph Kent, are you trying to charm me into bed?_" she teased. "_You KNOW I can't resist your hands on me!_"

Clark shrugged. "I just figured you were stressed, and that a massage could help," he answered. "If we should just _happen_ to decide to make love after that…well we're both consenting adults, aren't we?"

"_It's official: you've been hanging around LeBeau, too long._"

Clark laughed. "As much as I'd love to keep talking, Aly, I have to go," he said, just as the elevator arrived at his floor.

"_Okay, Clarkie. I love you!_"

"I love you, too!" With that, Clark ended the call, and headed into the bullpen.

As soon as Clark got off the elevator, Chloe was there to meet him. "Good timing, Clark – Mr. Urich just called us in for assignments. We start the staff meeting in five."

Clark nodded. "Think we'll actually _get_ an assignment, this time?"

Chloe snorted. "We'd _better_! Between fluff and paperwork, I'm likely to go crazy!"

Clark chuckled. "And how's the apartment-hunt going?"

"Not bad," Chloe answered. "I think I may have found a building that offers good enough rent for the services, so I'll probably go with them." She arched an eyebrow. "I think they have several unrented apartments – why don't you look into one?"

Clark blinked. "Um…why?"

Looking grave, Chloe leaned in closer. "Because then Clark Kent has a forwarding address in Metropolis," she whispered. "Cat may be the biggest gossip here, but she's not the only one, Clark. I've done what I can to keep people from asking about where you go, but…"

Clark understood. "I'll look into it, Chloe. Thanks."

Chloe grinned. "Look on the bright side: you can always ask Aly to move in with you."

Clark almost choked. "_Chloe!_"

"What? You're practically living together _now_, aren't you?"

Clark flushed. "I-It's not the same thing!"

Chloe arched an eyebrow. "Why not? Don't you want to live with her?"

Clark steadied himself. "Of course I do!" he defended. "I love her, and I want to be with her." His blush came back. "It's just…Aly and I aren't married…"

Chloe laughed. "Clark, _lots_ of couples live together without getting married," she chided, "and since you're living together _now_, it's practically a non-issue." She shrugged. "Still, it's something you both should talk about."

Clark calmed. "I'll…keep that in mind." Recovering his clueless smile, he added, "Guess we'd better not keep Mr. Urich waiting, huh?" With that, they headed into the meeting room.

As the two of them headed in, Jimmy waved in greeting. "Hey, guys."

Clark waved back. "Hey, Jimmy."

Leaning back on his chair, sipping a cup of coffee, a tall, well-built 40-something man in a t-shirt and jeans smirked, twitching his red mustache. "Took you long enough, Kent."

Clark rolled his eyes. "Nice to see you too, Ken."

Sitting next to him, Ron frowned. "Lay off, Lombard."

"What? I'm just saying that _we_ all have to be on-time, but for some reason, Kent gets to duck out whenever he wants."

Chloe frowned. "News flash, Ken: Clark was just answering his phone, this time."

Cat looked intrigued. "Oh?" she asked. "Do tell."

"That's none of your business, Cat."

Clark's flat denial didn't deter Cat one bit. "I'm going to find out..!"

Fortunately, Ben Urich walked in, stymying her statement. "Okay, people, we need to make this brief!" he reported. "Troupe, HoltTech is about to call a press-conference, later today – I need you to cover it."

Ron nodded as he accepted the folder Ben handed him. "On it, Chief."

Ben then handed two more folders to Ken and Cat. "Lombard, Grant, I'll need you to cover the post-game at Metropolis Stadium: this could be the first shot the Marauders have had to reach the playoffs in the past five years."

Cat looked less than enthused. "Wonderful."

Ken chuckled. "Aw, c'mon, Cat – trust me, it won't be that bad!"

Finally, Ben turned to Clark, Chloe, and Jimmy. "Kent, Sullivan, Olsen: there was a break-in at S.T.A.R. Labs, last night, and I'll need you three to get the facts."

Clark skimmed his folder, and nodded. "Got it, Chief – we won't let you down!"

Ken snorted. "Just as long as you don't have to grab Mommy's medicine in the meantime, right?"

Ben glared at him. "What was that, Lombard?"

Ken gulped. "Nothing."

"Thought so." Ben looked at all of them. "The presses are still rolling, people: get going!"

At Ben's statement, everyone headed out of the staff room to their respective tasks. As he, Clark, and Chloe headed to the elevator, Jimmy piped up. "Any idea what the S.T.A.R. break-in could be about?"

Clark shook his head. "Nothing I can say for sure, Jimmy, but around this time _last_ year there was a similar break-in. Neither the police nor the Justice League could get any leads on it."

Chloe followed his train of thought. "You think it might be related?"

"I don't want to say for certain, but it's possible."

After reaching the ground-floor, the three of them caught a cab, taking it to S.T.A.R. Labs. Within ten minutes, they had reached the high-tech-looking facility, and presented their press-passes to the guard on duty, who let them through the main gate. Inside, one lab was cordoned off with police-tape, while uniformed cops questioned lab-personnel. Spotting one scientist – an older man with white hair, a trim beard, and glasses – Clark walked over, presenting his pass. "Doctor?" he asked. "Clark Kent, Daily Planet – could I have a few minutes?"

The scientist sighed. "I have already answered _enough_ questions, thank you," he said. "Furthermore, I have no intention of divulging any details of our projects…"

"Good, because I'm not looking for any," Clark answered. "All we care about is figuring out who did this and why, Doctor..?"

The scientist looked perplexed by Clark's statement – so much that he opted to answer. "…Emil Hamilton, Ph.D," he said. "I still don't see what I could tell you – I have already told the police all that I know."

"A fresh set of eyes could be of help, Professor," Clark supplied. "What exactly was taken?"

"Well, the break-in was localized in our Genetics lab," Professor Hamilton replied. "From what we can tell, all that was taken was our Molecular Resequencer."

Clark nodded. "You use it to recombine bacterial plasmid genomes?"

Emil smiled approvingly. "You've done your homework," he commented. "Yes, the Resquencer's function is to insert and delete target genes in order to study their effects, which only makes its theft the more puzzling: why would anyone steal it?"

Clark scribbled on his notepad. "Is it valuable?"

"Well, yes, but it's hardly the sort of thing that could be sold on the black market!" Emil exclaimed. "If you have enough money to break into this facility, then you have enough to buy a Resequencer fairly! It makes no sense!"

Clark looked thoughtful. "Is there any difference between S.T.A.R.'s Resequencer and the kind you'd buy from a supplier?"

Emil paused to consider that. "Dr. Dextras in Genetics _did_ say he'd been reconfiguring it," he said. "From his last memo, he was confident that it could be used in cloning experiments; the head office never gave him permission to proceed, so that was the last I heard of it."

"Is Dr. Dextras in, today?"

Professor Hamilton checked his data-pad. "Hmm…no, actually, he called in sick."

A knowing wariness started to fill Clark's thoughts. Still, he needed _all_ the facts. "Professor Hamilton, it was about this time last year that this facility was broken into. Refresh my memory: what was taken, back then?"

Emil took a second look at his data-pad. "Let's see…here we are: on that day, we reported several specimen-tanks and several gallons of oxygenated nutrient suspension missing – the tanks are for containing large subjects, and the fluid is a potential alternative to pressurized air."

Clark felt a chill. "Professor…if the person who took the Resequencer also took those tanks and the fluid…"

Emil's eyes went wide as it hit him. "Dear God…if they knew how to use them, they could clone an entire human being!" he exclaimed. "Worse still, they could reconfigure the entire genome as they saw fit!"

Clark nodded, equally grim. "Has this facility received any threats or suspicious messages?" he asked. "Have any suspicious individuals been spotted nearby?"

Emil shook his head. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

Clark was about to inquire further…until he noticed a familiar shadow in the lab cordoned off by police-tape. "I see," he said. "Well, thank you for your time, Professor!" Leaving Emil behind, he hurried over to Chloe and Jimmy, the latter of which was snapping photos, and leaned closer to his partner. "I need to get into that lab; think you and Jim can distract the officers watching it?"

Glancing at the patrolmen, Chloe nodded. "C'mon, Jimmy: let's see if these good officers have anything to say!"

Pausing, Jimmy looked confused. "Uh…okay." With that, he followed Chloe over to two of the officers questioning S.T.A.R. personnel.

The second she was close enough, Chloe whipped out her phone, switching on its recording option. "Chloe Sullivan, Daily Planet: any comment on what happened here, officer?"

The patrolman looked uncomfortable. "Ma'am, this is an ongoing investigation…"

"So you have no idea how the perps got in, or whether or not this was an inside job?"

The second cop frowned. "We'll be releasing a statement as soon as we have a better – _hey!_"

His statement was drowned out by a camera-flash as Jimmy snapped a photo in both cops' faces. "You guys got time for a close-up?"

The first cop looked to the patrolman watching the crime-scene. "Guys, we've got a little situation, here." At that, the two cops walked over to assist their colleagues…giving Clark the opening he needed to slip under the police-tape unnoticed.

Once he was past the tape, Clark's suspicions were confirmed. "I see I'm not the only one who put two and two together."

Batman was at the lab's main console, poring over an equipment list and several specifications-files at once. "Whoever worked here was operating _well_ outside of S.T.A.R.'s ethical purview; half of the equipment listed here can only be used for extensive recombination procedures."

"Not the kind you'd perform on bacterial plasmids, I take it," Clark hazarded.

Batman shook his head. "The chief researcher is a Dr. Armond Dextras. It looks like he came up with a lot of the missing Resequencer's upgrades on his own," he stated, bringing up a photo of a thirty-something blond male. Plugging in a black USB-stick, he loaded a photo-analysis program. "This photo is fake. It was created right here – there are traces left in the computer's hard drive."

Clark looked hard at the screen. "So what does this guy really look like?"

Batman continued his hacking, bringing up a video-feed, showing the same man – Dr. Dextras – walking through a hallway. "This video has been altered, as well: I'm detecting a program written into the video-software to project this image every time a specified subject is taped," he muttered. "If I filter out the projection…_there._"

Clark's eyes went wide. "Is that who I think it is?"

Glaring at the image of Sinister, Batman nodded. "We have our inside man."

Clark flinched. "Even his _name_: Dextras, from Latin _dextra_, or right: the opposite of _left…_"

"…_sinistra,_" Batman finished, bringing up another file. "It looks like "Dr. Dextras" has several properties in his name."

"His labs," Clark said. "First lead we've had in a while."

Batman turned back to him. "I take it you haven't had any luck with our other problem."

"Kurox is still analyzing the Boom-tube at the Fortress; he says he's close to replicating its mechanics," Clark answered. "As for who made it…"

Batman waved him off. "There are too many properties to take alone," he said, copying the property-list and sending it to his communicator, before logging out of the system. "I'll handle the ones on the west side. You take the east."

"Got it," Clark agreed. "Good luck." With that, he turned and headed outside, while Batman fired his grapnel, pulling himself up to an open air-vent.

Emerging from the lab unnoticed, Clark waved to Chloe and Jimmy, prompting them to stop badgering the police. Following him out of the facility, Chloe arched an eyebrow. "Well?"

"It's looking more and more like this _was_ an inside job," Clark said. "I have reason to believe that Dr. Armond Dextras is our guy."

Jimmy looked quizzical. "Okay. How do we prove it?"

"I took a look at some of the properties the not-so-good doctor has listed in his name," Clark said. "If he's guilty…"

"…one of them will have the missing equipment!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Exactly!" Clark confirmed. "I think it's time we paid Dr. Dextras a house-call…"

Clark's voice trailed off as his hearing caught several familiar voices in the distance…including one he hoped he _wouldn't._ Chloe noticed his face going pale. "Clark? Is everything okay?"

"F-Fine!" Clark stammered. "It's just…I-I forgot that I had to pick up a…a heartworm vaccination for my dog…"

Jimmy winced. "Oh, man, those things are _nasty!_" he said. "In that case, you can catch up with us later; go take care of Fido, CK. We'll be fine."

Chloe nodded. "Just be careful," she agreed. "You know how…traffic can be murder, this time of day."

"I will," Clark promised. "I'll be back before you know it!" With that, he turned, and hurried out of the facility, darting around to the back of the lab. Once he'd found a blind-spot in the surveillance grid, he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the crest of the House of El underneath. In seconds, his change was complete; after stashing his clothes in a nook on the roof, Superman took to the air, heading out across the Atlantic at top speed, hoping he wasn't too late…

XXXXXXXX

_University of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England_

When David came to, the first thing he noticed was that he had a splitting headache, along with a mouth drier than the Sahara. '_Bloody hell, Luke, what kind of party did you talk me into, this time?_'

Sitting up, the 19-year old found himself in his usual slacks, white shirt, and vest, his light blond hair still a bit mussed. Looking around, he found himself in his dorm-room, his textbooks scattered…and a lone visitor. "Oi, Ian."

Sitting on the nearby table, in his usual blue shorts and white t-shirt, the 8-year-old boy named Ian sat, idly playing with his action-figures, his short blond hair partially covering his green eyes. Glancing up, Ian simply shrugged, prompting David to speak again. "I gotta have a chat with your brother; seen Luke around?"

When Ian shook his head no, David frowned. '_Bugger._' "Well, when you see him, just have him give me a shout…"

He paused as the phone rang, prompting him to answer it. A young woman's voice came through the line. "_L-Lucas? It's me, Michelle; we went to a party, last night?_" She sounded nervous. "_I-I can't remember anything about what we did…_"

Flushing, David interrupted her. "Uh…sorry, Miss, but Luke's not here."

The young woman's voice caught. "_W-What?_"

David managed a reassuring tone. "Luke's got early-morning classes, so he should be back soon," he explained. "I can take a message, if you'd like."

The woman – Michelle – sniffled. "_A-Alright,_" she murmured. "_Can you tell him that Michelle from St. Sebastian's School for Girls called? He has my number._"

David nodded. "I will."

"_Thank you._" With that, Michelle hung up.

"I miss anything?"

With a groan, David turned to find his roommate, in his black jeans, tattered red t-shirt, and leather vest, leaning against the door. "Just a call from someone named Michelle: you met her at that party, last night."

Lucas frowned to himself. "Michelle, Michelle…oh, right! Shelly!" he laughed. "Hell of a time that was, eh, Dave?"

David put his hand to his head. "Maybe if I could bloody _remember_ it, you sod."

Lucas laughed. "You just need to learn to handle your brew, mate!"

David groaned. "Should you be saying this in front of your _baby brother_, Luke?"

Looking over his shoulder, Lucas spotted Ian, who just shrugged. "Eh. The lad'll hear about this stuff, soon enough."

David rolled his eyes, as he started gathering his books for class. "I gather you plan to call Michelle, soon?"

Lucas winced. "Not likely, Dave. The bird's nice enough to look at, but, bugger me, she's a nightmare to listen to: always whining about how Daddy never pays attention to her, how Mummy wants her in the family business, and how those other snotty rich brats give her a hard time! I had to get a couple in her just to get her to shut up!"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't take out girls from St. Sebastian's, then," David reasoned. "And she sounded a little young, Luke…"

"Yesterday's news, Dave!" Lucas declared. "Speaking of which, I met somebody yesterday who had a bit of a job-offer for the two of us."

David was instantly sceptical. "Bugger, Luke, not another one of your scams…"

"No scam, Dave! Honest to God, the Queen, and the whole lot!" Lucas vowed. "Last night, I bumped into somebody…like us."

David paled. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Dave."

David took a deep breath. "So…he's a..?"

"Yep. Knew all about you, me, an' Ian, too," Lucas confirmed. "Said his boss had a job for us." He grinned. "A job that'll make the old man have a shit-fit."

David instantly frowned. "Contrary to what you may think, Luke, I'm not interested in what that old bastard does."

Lucas smirked. "_Really,_ Dave?" he asked. "You don't want to take our one chance to _really_ flip that wanker the bird, once and for all? To piss on _everything_ he stands for – everything he _abandoned_ us for?"

Ian's imploring look made David think for a moment – Mum _was_ a bit strapped for cash, and he could always use help with tuition. "What _kind_ of job was this?"

"Hell if I know, Dave. The bloke said he had to clear it with his boss, first."

David sighed, as he headed out of his dorm, books in hand. '_Serves me right._' "Then it was a scam, Luke." Ignoring Lucas' protests, David headed out of the dormitory, walking across the campus field towards his first class of the day…

"David?"

David knew that voice – he'd heard it often enough on the telly. Frozen to the spot, he inched around to see who'd spoken, although he already knew.

The old man was a bit shorter than he'd expected, though that was likely due to the wheelchair. His cheekbones were practically identical to David's own, and his eyes were wide, matching his haunted expression. "David…Haller?"

David gulped. "Who's asking?"

The old man smiled gently. "I'm…"

"I bloody well _know_ who you are!" David snapped, before gesturing to the lone woman behind his wheelchair. "Who's she? Your _new_ wife?"

The woman – with a Scottish accent – laughed. "Not in this lifetime, laddie," she chided. "I'm Moira McTaggert; I'm an old friend of Charles'…and your mother's."

David calmed down a little bit. "What do you want?"

Charles took a deep breath. "Earlier today, your mother…told me about something."

David snorted. "Me," he said. "So, what? You thought you could just walk back into our lives? Like _nothing_ happened?"

Charles' eyes scrunched. "I didn't know, David."

David laughed. "You "didn't know"?" he mocked. "The biggest telepath in the whole bloody world, and you "didn't know"?"

"What I tell you, Dave?"

Looking to his side, David found both Lucas and Ian there. "If there's _anybody_ that deserves getting the bird flipped, it's him," Lucas muttered, as Ian just nodded.

David scowled. "Piss off, you two. I can handle this."

Moira looked confused. "David…who are ye talking to?"

David gaped. "Are you blind, woman?" he asked. "I'm talking to my flat-mate Lucas, and his brother Ian. They're standing right here!"

Moira was even more perplexed. "David…there's nobody…"

Charles interrupted her. "They're your friends, aren't they?" he asked. "When did you meet them?"

David's eyes narrowed. "None of your bloody..!"

"It's a simple question, David."

Flustered by his own overreaction, David scowled. "Back when I was in high school; we were friends since then. Later on, he and his brother Ian needed a place to crash, so I said he could stay at my dorm until his housing papers clear."

Lucas grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, about that, Dave…it might take a bit longer…"

Charles nodded to himself. "You were getting headaches at the time, weren't you?"

"I was stressed, is all."

Charles nodded again. "Yes, that's often what triggers the X-Gene."

Lucas scowled. "Bugger. He's onto us, Dave."

David kept cool. "So I'm a mutant?" he asked. "Congratulations, pops. You want an award for figuring out what I already knew?"

"No," Charles said, "but I thought you might like to know the truth about your friends."

David froze. "What?"

Lucas snarled. "Don't listen to this wanker, Dave; he's trying to..!"

"Why don't you let him decide for _himself_, Lucas?" Charles snapped.

Moira turned to gape at Charles. "Charlie, have _you_ gone mad? There's nary a soul there, besides David!"

Charles didn't relent. "Tell me, David, do you have any photos of yourself and Lucas side-by-side?" he pressed. "Have any of your friends seen the two of you together?"

Lucas flinched. "Ignore him, Dave – the sod's grasping at straws!"

David slowly looked at Lucas. "N-No."

"And when exactly did you meet them?" Charles asked. "The first time you met Lucas and Ian, what was happening?"

David thought for a moment. "It…it was two years ago – my junior year at high school," he recalled. "I was heading to school, the first day back, and I got this bloody big headache. It nearly brought me to my knees – I could barely see…"

"…and that's when you met them?" Charles hazarded.

Ian quietly whimpered. Lucas looked just as distraught.

David gulped. "Y-Yeah," he confirmed. "Luke and Ian were right there; Luke helped me up. He said he needed to get Ian to his school, and that he'd meet me at lunch; we've been mates ever since."

"But no-one else has ever seen him?"

David frowned. "What are you getting at, old man?"

Charles' tone was patient. "When mutants manifest more than one mental-based ability, it can place significant strain on their minds," he explained. "In order to cope with the strain, and to manage these multiple powers, they can create new personality constructs to "lighten the load." I've seen it happen with one of my students, before."

Moira gasped. "Charles, are ye sayin'..?"

Charles nodded. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, David…but your friends Lucas and Ian are not real; at least, not real like you or I."

David jerked like he'd been hit.

Ian started sniffling, while Lucas was irate. "You haven't got a bloody _clue_ what you're talking about, old man!" he exploded. "Dave, are you gonna let this bastard just walk in and piss on _everything_ we've gone through?"

David's anguish turned to fury. "Why the hell should I believe _you_, you old _prick?_" he shouted. "You _abandoned_ me and my Mum, and now you're trying to tear away the two best friends I've..!"

"Have they changed at all, David?"

David paused. "What?"

Charles gestured to Lucas and Ian. "I can see them because of my telepathy, David; have they ever looked different – younger – than they do now? Have they aged at all, in the past two years?"

Charles' logic shook David from his rage, prompting him to look again, his eyes going wide. "B-Bloody hell…t-they're the _same_…"

Lucas looked distraught, while Ian started rubbing his eyes. "Dave, don't let him do this!"

David backed away. "Am…am I crazy?"

"No, David; you merely have the same kind of obstacle my student did," Charles said. "What happens next is up to you."

David kept staring at his two friends. "And what's that?"

Charles smiled gently. "We could help you learn to use your abilities wisely."

David frowned. "What, and play at happy families, _Dad?_" he snapped. "I'm not up and leaving Oxford when I had to work my _arse_ off to get here, _especially_ not for you..!"

"No-one is saying you have to, David," Charles soothed. "My Institute is only _one_ option." He gestured to Moira. "Another option is to let Moira assist you. She oversees a group of mutants similar to my students, and I'm sure she'd be willing to assist you as well, without interfering with your schedule."

David calmed. "And that's it?" he asked. "If I tell you to bugger off, you'll go?"

Charles looked a little sad. "If…if you choose," he said, "but I would at least like a chance to know the son I never knew I had…"

"How touching."

The new voice drew David's attention to his left…where he spotted the _creepiest_-looking sod he'd ever seen. "W-What the..?"

Lucas looked relieved. "About bloody time, Sinister!"

"Luke, you _know_ this guy?"

The pale man – Sinister – chuckled. "Your friend did tell you about my Master's job-offer, correct?"

Charles glared at him. "You will _not_ involve my son in Apocalypse's schemes, Essex!"

"Playing the concerned father, Xavier?" Sinister asked with a smirk. "How unlike you." He glanced to David. "David? Lucas? I think we had best be on our way."

David backed up. "Like hell, you mad bastard!" he shouted. "Like I just told the old man, I'm not throwing my life away for _any_ git with an agenda!"

Lucas fumed. "Dave, will you bloody _grow_ a pair! This is our _chance!_"

Sinister arched an eyebrow. "I see there's some dissention in the ranks," he mused. "Perhaps it's time we heard from Lucas, now." With that, he narrowed his eyes at David.

Instantly, David was struck with a splitting headache, worse than any he'd had before, which drove him to his knees…and then found himself in Lucas' spot, with Lucas standing where he'd been, a moment ago. Lucas grinned. "Thanks, old chum! I usually have to wait for Dave to nod off before taking a stroll!"

Moira was horrified. "My God..!"

Sinister grinned. "You should be proud, Xavier: with _four_ powers – metamorphosis being one – your son is definitely Alpha-material; with training, perhaps even Omega-level!" he exclaimed. "Master Apocalypse will be pleased!"

Charles glowered at him. "You are _not_ taking him, Sinister!"

That just seemed to set Lucas off. "You don't _get_ to say what we can't do, you rotten old git!" he exploded, as he flexed his fists…forming twin orbs of flame in his hands. "_Here's_ what I think of you, your school, and your precious little students!"

Moira barely had time to push Charles out of the way, knocking them both to the ground as Lucas unleashed two columns of fire, boiling the air just above their heads and setting the campus buildings behind them ablaze. As students and faculty ran for cover, Moira pulled out her communicator. "X-Men, Excalibur, deploy!"

Instantly, the green haze of Siryn's spell deposited Cyclops, Phoenix, Siryn, Black Canary, Wolfsbane, Wolverine, Madelyn, Captain Britain, Psylocke, Banshee, and Meggan next to their respective mentors. Looking around, Cyclops quickly analyzed the situation. "Madelyn, Siryn, get those fires out!" he instructed. "Phoenix, Canary, you two cover us! Logan and I will take Sinister; Wolfsbane, you go after Lucas!"

The Captain wasn't far behind. "Betsy, assist Rahne, will you?" he said. "Banshee, you're best off aiding Miss Grey and Miss Lance from afar; Meggan and I will help detain that Sinister chap. Shall we?"

Siryn and Madelyn were quickly in motion, racing towards the spreading flames. With a gesture, Siryn summoned a wave of frigid mist that coated half of the fire creeping over the administration building, quelling much of their heat, which allowed Madelyn to get closer. Reaching out with her TK, she snagged two students surrounded by flames and lifted them clear, before unleashing a telekinetic shockwave that pushed away the oxygen fueling the remaining fire, snuffing it out.

The sight of some of the X-Men only incensed Lucas further. "You brought your bloody precious freak-kids, eh, old man? _Fine by me!_" He punctuated his threat with another blast of flame, but Psylocke focused, generating a small wall of violet psychic energy ahead of herself and Wolfsbane, effectively blunting the firebomb…as well as leaving Psylocke winded. Irate, Wolfsbane wolfed-out fully, racing at Lucas at full speed, to pounce at him and sink her teeth into his arm, causing him to howl with pain. "_Bloody mutt!_" Enshrouding his arm with fire, Lucas forced Rahne to let go, which gave the recovered Psylocke the chance she needed: rushing Lucas, she rolled under his horizontal fire-wave and popped up behind him. Clenching her fist, she formed a blade of psychic energy around her hand, which she drove right into Lucas' neck, sending spasms racing through him.

With Lucas distracted, Phoenix laid down a suppressing telepathic wave, with the aim of at least stalling Sinister…only to run into the same mind-boggling mental labyrinth that was Essex's mind. "A decent effort, Miss Grey," Sinister chortled, "but you'll have to do better." With that, he unleashed a TK-surge that almost collapsed Phoenix's flame-barrier.

Seeing Jean stagger, Cyclops glowered at Sinister. "Canary, Banshee, take some of the heat off Jean! Jean, once you get a shot, give Logan a Fastball Special! We'll take it from there!"

Aiming at Sinister, Black Canary unloaded a full-strength sonic scream at him, forcing Essex to block it with a TK-barrier. Before Dinah could complain, a _second_ scream, of equal strength, added to hers and blew out Sinister's shield…coming from _Banshee's_ mouth. Dinah was dumbfounded. "What the…how the hell do _you_ have this power, too?"

Banshee was equally incredulous. "'Tis news to me too, girl!"

Once Sinister was dazed, Phoenix telekinetically grabbed Wolverine and launched him straight at Essex, claws-first. Barely recovering in time, Sinister propelled himself backwards, with his TK, causing Wolverine's claws to stick into the ground. Flanking Sinister from the side with Meggan, Cyclops kept a constant optic-surge on him, forcing Sinister to continually block him, until his shield gave way. Closing fast from the other direction, Captain Britain slammed into Essex with a tackle, spinning him into a reverse choke-hold with expert precision. "I fear the game's up, old chum," he growled. "Bad luck."

Sinister let out a wheezing chuckle. "Indeed it is, Captain Braddock," he sneered. "For _you._" Captain Britain blinked in confusion…and then let out a cry of agony as Sinister's telepathic surge hit his mind, allowing Sinister to break free and blast him across the field with a TK-blast.

Meggan froze at that sight, horrified. "_BRIAN!_" she cried, before she glowered at Sinister, her eyes going pure red, her hair moving with some unearthly wind. "_You…YOU HURT MY MAN, YOU BLOODY WANKER!_"

Banshee went pale. "Oh, _feck…_Betsy, Rahne, take _cover!_ Megs is _MAD!_"

At those words, Meggan instantly morphed into an 8-foot-tall, red-skinned, muscled, chimera-like devil-thing, with flaming horns and razor-fangs, roaring her murderous fury at Sinister, who just stared in morbid fascination. "Interesting."

As Psylocke and Wolfsbane paused, Lucas staggered away, his psyche short-circuiting. "Damn it, not now!"

Sensing his friend was losing control, David spoke up. "Luke, we've gotta get out of here! Let me back in!"

"Not likely, Dave! You'll just make a balls of it!" Lucas snapped. "Ian, switch with me! The rotten cow did something that got me out of sorts!" Nodding, Ian swapped places with his brother, causing Lucas' form to morph into that of Ian. Before Psylocke and Wolfsbane could react, Ian glared at them, unleashing a wide-field TK-wave that sent them both flying across the field.

As the enraged Meggan closed on him, slashing with her ten-inch claws, Sinister could only raise his TK-barrier, wincing as Mad Meggan bashed away at him. Once Sinister was at his limits, Wolverine charged, running up Meggan's back, to leap over and behind Sinister, stabbing his claws into Essex's back, and throwing him across the field. Seeing his chance, Cyclops followed up with twin optic-blasts, knocking Sinister even further back. Dazed and in pain, Sinister could barely move as he saw them close on him. "M-Master, _help..!_"

A flash of light ripped through the field before Sinister could finish his cry, depositing a muscular, blue-grey-skinned man in Egyptian-styled garb, complete with pharaonic headdress, sitting on a high-tech throne, several feet away. The grey man scowled at Sinister. "_Your combat prowess disappoints me, old vizier._"

Sinister smiled weakly. "My apologies, o Pharaoh…but I have long said that my talents were more scholarly than anything."

"_A fact that redeems you, this day, Than'al. Be thankful for it._"

Cyclops' hand moved to his visor. "If you think you're taking David, Apocalypse, then you're – _AARRRGGGHH!_"

At the grey man – Apocalypse's – glare, Cyclops and all the others, except Sinister and Ian, dropped to their knees, clutching their heads. "_Pharaoh has no time for the conceits of children, whelp._" His elemental gaze fell on a cringing Ian. "_Nor shall Pharaoh waste time with babes or unruly brats; begone, both of you!_"

At Apocalypse's psychic command, both Ian and Lucas were pushed away, leaving David in control. "W-What? How did…who are you?"

Apocalypse chuckled. "_The puppet-master to Than'al's puppet, boy,_" he said. "_Behold whom you may have the honour of serving._"

As Apocalypse walked away, Lucas scowled next to David. "Bloody hell…that git may be powerful, but he's full of himself…"

Walking towards Xavier, Apocalypse gestured, lifting Charles out of his chair, to galre at him face-to-face. "_Charles Xavier._"

Charles gulped, remaining calm. "En Sabah Nur."

Apocalypse looked disgusted. "_So __**this**__ is what pollutes the minds of my people in this age,_" he spat. "_In my time, weakling, you would never have been allowed to live, in such a state._"

Charles didn't back down. "This world has grown _beyond_ your savagery, Nur."

Apocalypse's booming laugh rippled the air. "_In what way, fool?_" he mocked. "_Wars are still fought; the weak are still crushed; and the strong still rule!_" His scowl returned. "_The only difference is that now, for reasons beyond my comprehension, in nations as yours, the weak are allowed not only to live, but to speak as though they have any right to! Worse still, your way would have the strong – those FIT to rule – subservient to those as you! By Set's Breath, it makes me SICK! Even your old adversary had more sense than that!_"

Lucas grinned. "I take it back, Dave: this sod's alright in my books!"

Charles glared at him. "What have you done with Erik, monster?"

Apocalypse chuckled. "_The same that I shall now do to you, weakling. Consider yourself honoured._" Raising his hand, he started to form a swirling mass of multicoloured light in his palm…

…and then a sonic boom echoed in the distance.

Hearing that sound, Sinister grimaced. "Master, we must withdraw! If Superman slows us, we risk losing our new recruit..!"

Apocalypse casually dropped Xavier, banishing his attack. "_You think Pharaoh afraid, Than'al?_" he growled. "_Behold, as I smite this star-born usurper!_" Turning in the direction of the boom, Apocalypse squinted, spotting a distant dot of red and blue, rapidly approaching, before he gestured at the nearest building, shutting his eyes in concentration.

As Apocalypse lifted his arms, the ground started to creak…before the building was torn _out_ of the ground. Guided by Nur's TK, the building ascended into the air, higher and higher, filled with countless screaming students, before accelerating hard, straight at Superman. Horrified, the Man of Tomorrow raced at the building, catching it and pushing with all his strength, trying to slow its flight.

Apocalypse cackled. "_Your concern for weaklings undoes you, fool whelp!_" he crowed, as he telekinetically pulled downwards, sending the building into a death-dive, taking Superman with it. Seeing the ground approaching fast, Superman flew to the underside of the building – now facing _up_ – and pushed against its side as hard as he could, until it was right-side-up, again. With the building righted, Superman pushed against both gravity and Nur's TK, slowing its descent…

…until the building slammed into the ground, crushing him beneath it, leaving the building's stonework cracked, its windows shattered…but otherwise intact.

David gaped in horror, but Lucas was laughing his head off. "_That was bloody BRILLIANT!_"

David glared at him. "He just killed _Superman_, Luke! Not only that, but now our career here is _over!_"

"Oh, lighten up, Dave!" Lucas said. "The blue wanker's survived worse, and if not, no sweat off our rears! Plus, this place was too stuffy for us, anyway!"

Grinning, Apocalypse was elated by his apparent victory. "_Now, my vizier, we may withdraw!_" he declared. "_Whelp. Attend us._"

David frowned. "I told your mate Sinister, pal: I'm not going..!"

"_Your Pharaoh commands it, boy! Now ATTEND!_"

With a cry of alarm, David felt himself yanked towards Apocalypse as he sat back on his throne, before a flash of light engulfed him, Nur, and Sinister…and then, he knew no more.

XXXXXXXX

_Metropolis_

"Think this is it?"

As she and Jimmy walked up to a dilapidated-looking old warehouse, Chloe nodded at her co-worker's request. "This is one of the addresses Clark spotted in Dextras' notes."

Jimmy groaned. "I swear, if it's not desert caves, it's deserted warehouses," he grumbled. "You'd think, just _once_, these guys would invest in better real estate."

Chloe shrugged. "Union rules?"

"Funny," Jimmy said, adjusting his camera to boost its flash. "Guess we'd better head in." With that, they both clambered over the simple wire fence, and headed into the warehouse.

The interior of the building was even darker than Chloe had expected. '_Boy, it's days like this that Clark's thermal vision could come in handy._' "See anything?"

Jimmy shook his head. "Zilch, Chloe," he muttered. "And this looks like a _prime_ opportunity for an ambush. Let me see if I can find a – _yes!_"

Jimmy's exclamation came seconds before several emergency lights flickered on…revealing five thugs, all semi-conscious and sprawled on the floor, cuffed and immobilized. "Uh…I think that should be "_was_ a prime opportunity for an ambush," Olsen."

Jimmy gaped, as he snapped a photo. "_Whoa!_" he exclaimed. "Who could've done _this?_"

Spotting the hint of a flickering shadow in the background, against a faint green light, Chloe got a sneaking suspicion. "Jimmy, why don't you snap a couple photos of these guys?" she suggested. "I'll go take a look around."

Horrified, Jimmy shook his head. "Chloe, there could be more of these guys sneaking around! I can't just leave you..!"

"Olsen, whoever did this to so many hardened criminals obviously would've been able to clear the warehouse," Chloe said. "I'll just be in the next room, and I'll sing out if it even _sounds_ like I'm in trouble, okay?"

Jimmy didn't look happy, but he nodded. "Be careful." Nodding back, Chloe followed the shadow, leaving Jimmy to his snapshots.

As quietly as she could, Chloe inched towards the light, until it was just around the corner. Peeking her head into the adjacent room, she found a high-tech-looking lab, stocked with a plethora of eerie-looking devices – including the missing Resequencer. At the rear of the lab was a large supercomputer, where a cowl-clad figure sat, typing away at it. Recognizing him, Chloe felt her eyes go wide, before starting to back away…

"You can relax, Miss Sullivan. The warehouse is secure, as long as Olsen stays within the main chamber. This facility had numerous intrusion countermeasures installed; I'm reasonably sure I've disabled them, but some of them are motion-triggered."

Chloe almost let out a scream at the Dark Knight's statement, as she felt her heart race up into her throat. "Could you have _warned_ me before you did that?"

Batman never moved an inch. "I just did."

Chloe frowned. "I'll never understand how Clark deals with that…"

She'd thought she'd said that under her breath, but obviously not enough. Stopping cold, Batman glared at her over his shoulder. "I was under the impression that we could trust you in that matter."

Chloe glared back. "You _can._"

"Then no names in the open, Sullivan. You don't know who's listening."

Flinching, Chloe wanted to smack herself. "Sorry." Walking closer, she squinted at the screen. "So, you were at S.T.A.R. Labs?"

Batman didn't push the issue, returning his gaze to the screen. "Dr. Dextras is the alias of Nathaniel Essex, who we've been tracking for some time."

The name rang a bell in Chloe's memory. "Essex, Essex…" she repeated, before her eyes went wide. "Wait…_Sinister?_ The guy who…who…hurt Aly..?"

"The architect of Project: Galatea, yes," Batman answered. "He was previously operating out of HYDRA facilities, but this suggests they're only patsies of his, now."

Chloe nodded. "So his real benefactors are..?"

"You don't want to know."

Chloe's hands moved to her hips. "I'm a _reporter_, Batman. I _always_ want to know."

Batman kept typing. "Not this time, you don't."

Chloe fumed. "If you think I'm going to needlessly endanger whatever you guys are trying to do, then you're wrong!" she declared. "I'm not going to risk people's lives over a story..!"

"Quiet."

Batman's terse command came as he spotted a particular file, and brought it up. Curious, Chloe peered at it. "Hey…is that an Aztec Temple..?"

Closing the file, Batman took a USB stick from his belt, and plugged it into an open port, before switching on his communicator. "Batman calling Watchtower. I've located one of Essex's storehouses, and am downloading files. From what I'm seeing, the Gizeh site is _not_ the only one like it; Nur may potentially have access to over a _dozen_ installations like it. Once I upload the map, be ready to deploy. Batman out."

If Chloe was curious before, she was all but drooling, now. ""Nur"?" she repeated. "Is that the name of Sinister's boss?"

"Hey, Chloe, is everything – _WHOA!_"

Jimmy innocently rounded the corner before Batman could respond. His expression bug-eyed as he saw the Dark Knight, Jimmy stumbled over his own words. "W-Wow, Batman, _sir_, I-I am _so_ sorry if I – if _we_ – disturbed you!" Grinning sheepishly, he raised his camera. "Mind if I..?"

Batman had already drawn a joystick-like device from his belt, his thumb depressing a trigger on its tip, causing it to emit a faint buzzing sound. Jimmy had already raised his camera to snap a shot, when he frowned. "Hey, it's all staticky! What gives?"

Chloe shook her head. "Jamming his camera? _Really..?_"

An alarm klaxon drowned out Chloe's admonition, forcing Batman to refocus on the console. "Sinister's systems have a failsafe; this facility's set to self-destruct in five minutes," he said, typing furiously. "You two: out. Now. Get as many of Sinister's men out as you can, but do _not_ stay here."

Jimmy flinched. "What about you?"

"_Go._"

Batman's order was more than enough to get them moving. As fast as they could, Chloe and Jimmy raced to the main chamber. Lifting one dazed crook up, Chloe hobbled out, supporting him on her shoulder, while Jimmy hefted two more out after her. Once they were a safe distance away, they set the three goons down, and turned back to the warehouse…

…at which point the warehouse blew up.

Knocked flat on her back by the shockwave, Chloe winced, trying to ease the ringing in her ears. As her hearing inched back to her, she sat up, looking to where Jimmy lay sprawled beside her. "Jimmy, are you okay?"

Jimmy looked just as shaken as she was. "Ugh…did we hit an IED?"

Chloe massaged her aching temples. "Close enough."

Wobbly, Jimmy stood up, supporting himself by leaning on a lightpole. "Wait…what about Batman? Did he get out..?"

"The other two thugs are in an alley west of here. As soon as you can, call EMS and get them – and yourselves – seen to."

This time, Batman's voice _did_ make Chloe scream, almost falling back on her butt. "_God_, Batman, have you ever heard of tact?"

Standing behind her, the Dark Knight appeared unphased. "I assume your phones still work."

Pulling herself up, Chloe nodded. "Yes,and we're both fine, thanks for asking!"

Jimmy winced. "Not so loud, Chloe," he groaned, holding his concussed head. "I'm guessing what is in there – _was_ in there – was stuff this guy didn't want getting out?"

"Naturally," Batman said. "Unfortunately for him, I was able to complete a partial download before I had to evacuate."

Glancing back to the wreckage, Chloe shook her head. "And you did this before rescuing two guys within five minutes?" she asked. "I don't suppose we could ask for an…expose?" Her second question came as she turned back…only to find him gone.

Jimmy blinked. "Okay, that's kinda cool," he said. "A little on the creepy side, but cool."

Chloe sighed, before she shouted into the open air. "A simple "no" would've been fine!"

XXXXXXXX

_University of Oxford_

Once Apocalypse had departed, the unceasing pressure of his telepathic attack faded, allowing the X-Men and Excalibur to breathe easy again. Suppressing a colossal headache, Cyclops got to his feet, helping his girlfriend up. "You okay, Jean?"

Aside from looking angry, Phoenix looked none the worse for wear. "I'm fine, Scott…aside from the fact that I couldn't stop him from turning my head to putty!"

Pulling himself back towards his wheelchair, Charles answered her. "Nor could I, Jean. Do not feel ashamed."

"_Brian!_"

With a scream of alarm, Meggan shed her diabolical morph, regaining her blonde-haired state as she raced towards her boyfriend, utterly distraught. "Brian, are you alright?"

Holding his head, Captain Britain stood up. "I'm somewhat out of sorts, Meggan, but otherwise fine – no cause for alarm."

Her skin flaring slightly red, Meggan pouted angrily. "Y-You scared me, you bloody _git!_"

Brian gulped. "It was hardly intentional, darling; that lout Essex surprised me…"

"Then you should've been more _careful!_"

Betsy chuckled. "Don't argue with her, Brian: it'll just make her mad."

Wolverine snorted. "So what's Blondie's deal? She goes monster when she's steamed?"

"'Tis part of it," Wolfsbane said. "Megs be an empathic metamorph: she changes form based on her mood. When she's mostly calm or happy, she looks like she did back at base. When she gets scared, she grows chameleon-scales that let her blend in. When she's sad, she's like a weepy version o' the ghost-girl from The Ring…"

"…and when she's mad, she monsters out," Black Canary finished.

"Aye."

Wolverine blinked. "Damn."

By then, Meggan's hair had drooped, turning pitch-black, while her face went deathly aple, with dark tear-stains pooling under her eyes. "Y-You're _sure_ he didn't hurt you?"

Sliding back his cowl, Brian smiled gently, taking her hands in his. "Quite sure, love. I'm not going anywhere," he assured her. "After all, doesn't my sister always say I've a thick skull?"

Phoenix chuckled as she nudged Scott. "Gee, who does _that_ sound like?" she teased, before she paled. "O-Oh my gosh! W-Where's Kal..?"

A faint tremor beneath their feet answered Jean's cry, emanating from beneath the science building and growing closer, before a fist punched its way out of the ground, as Superman, dusty and frowning, dug his way free. "I am _really_ starting to not like that guy."

Wolverine chuckled. "That settles it: Flyboy's had everything but the kitchen sink thrown at him."

Superman looked back at the building Apocalypse had tossed at him. "No-one was hurt?"

The Professor had just finished his telepathic scan. "No, Superman. The student body is shaken, and some are badly bruised, but nothing worse than that."

"Good." Superman turned to Excalibur. "I see you've made some new friends."

Charles' smile was weary. "Kal, this is an old colleague of mine, Dr. Moira McTaggert," he introduced, before gesturing to each of Excalibur. "These are her charges: Captain Britain," at which Brian promptly saluted, "Meggan," as Meggan, in her cheery morph, gave a friendly wave, "Psylocke," to which Betsy shrugged, "and Banshee," as Sean raised his hand in greeting.

Brian held salute. "It's an honor, sir."

"Captain," Superman replied, before addressing all of them. "I wish we had time for introductions, but if Nur came here, he must be after something."

"He was," Moira said. "He an' that Sinister lout kidnapped Charlie's son."

"Well, once we get a fix on him, we'll get him – wait, _what?_" Superman exclaimed. "His…Professor, did I hear that right?"

Charles closed his eyes. "You did."

"Yeah, that was a what-the-feck moment for all o' us, too," Banshee confirmed.

Still dumbfounded, Superman stared for another few seconds before shaking himself out of it. "Okay, just…let me get the rest of the League on this before my head explodes." He took out his communicator. "Superman calling Watchtower: Priority One!"

Batman's voice came back. "_We have a situation, Superman._"

"You bet we do, Batman: Nur is active!" Superman replied. "He was just here; he and Essex stayed long enough to kidnap an Oxford student – who also, get this, happens to be the Professor's son – and drop a building on my head! Tell me you're tracking him!"

Batman was silent for several seconds. "_Would this be David Charles Haller, son of Gabrielle Haller?_"

Superman looked to Cyclops. "Is Gabrielle Haller his mom?"

"How did you..?"

"I didn't. Batman did," Superman sighed. "I suppose I should be surprised you knew."

"_She was his ex-wife. It's easy enough to find out._"

"If you say so," Superman said. "In any case, we need to track them…"

"_No need; I know where they're heading,_" Batman replied. "_I infiltrated one of Essex's safehouses and got a partial download. Most of it is still decrypting, but I managed to I.D. an installation in the Aztec Templo Meyor._"

Superman's eyes went wide. "He's got _another_ stronghold?"

"_Likely more. I'm sending the location to Arrow, Lantern, and J'onn; the others are on assignment. We'll meet you several clicks from the Temple, outside of Nur's sensor range. Batman out._"

As Batman ended the transmission, Superman did the same. "We know where Nur and Essex are heading," he reported. "Batman got a partial download from Sinister's database – apparently, there's another Sphinx-type facility in the Aztec Templo Meyor."

Siryn paled. "You are joking."

"I wish I was, Anita," Superman replied. "We need to be mobile, _yesterday_ – Batman, Arrow, Green Lantern, and J'onn are already en route."

Brian slid his cowl back down. "I gather you could use assistance?"

"Against Apocalypse?" Cyclops asked. "That's a given." He looked back to Superman. "Keep your transponder active until you get there, so we can follow you in the Blackbird." Nodding, Superman quickly took to the air, while the others hurried back to the Blackbird.

Time was of the essence.

XXXXXXXX

_Templo Meyor, Mexico_

"Dave? Come on, Dave, wake up!"

Besides Lucas' voice, David was greeted by the sight and sensation of cold stone on his face. Groaning, he sat up to look around, finding himself in a dark, ancient-looking stone chamber, with Lucas and Ian waiting just a few feet away. "Ugh…Luke, where are we?"

Lucas looked just as perplexed as David. "Bugger if I know, mate," he said, motioning over his shoulder. "Chances are, the big fella knows."

Following Lucas' pointing thumb, David glanced behind him, where Apocalypse sat on his throne, flanked by Sinister, a man seemingly made of stone, and a well-built younger man in some kind of armorsuit. It was the younger man that spoke first. "My Pharaoh, Master Sinister, I know you had both spoken of this youth's potential," he said, fixing David with a sneer, "but I have difficulty seeing it – not only is this whelp undisciplined, I dare say he is quite mad."

Sinister chuckled. "Some would say the same of all of us, Exodus."

The stone man looked to Apocalypse. "Shall we activate the outpost, Master?"

"_In time, Ozymandias,_" Apocalypse answered, rising from his throne to walk towards David. "_I believe my new Horseman seeks answers._"

As a chill gripped him, David inched back. "J-Just who are you?"

"_One such as you, boy,_" Apocalypse replied. "_One cast out by those that should have welcomed him. One capable of feats that the rest of these weak fools – my own sires included – could have never comprehended._" His eyes narrowed, he clenched his fist firmly. "_I am the First One, David, son of Xavier – the first of our kind to walk this earth._"

David gulped. "So why did you bring me here?"

"_Once I ruled over all the known world, 'till I was imprisoned,_" Apocalypse intoned. "_I mean to do so again, once my army is rebuilt; the forces of the outposts I seek are adequate defenders, but to lay claim to my birthright, I require more. Already, I have chosen one of my Horsemen, my trusted inner court…and I have come to select another._"

Now David understood. "Me."

Lucas crowed with laughter. "How about that, Dave? A horseman of the bloody Apocalypse! _That_ sure tops a couple more years at Oxford!"

Apocalypse fixed a sour glare at Lucas, before glancing back to David. "_I would counsel you to still your cohort, child…but he is essentially correct: to be chosen as my Horseman is the greatest honour any of our kind could hope for._" His eyes narrowed. "_To refuse is to show weakness…and weakness has no place in my kingdom._"

David paled. "So if I say no..?"

Exodus blistered. "…then you show you are unworthy to serve our Pharaoh!" he finished.

David was silent, but Lucas was anything but. "What are you bloody _waiting_ for, you git?" he demanded, as Ian nodded quietly. "You heard him! It's this or we're _toast!_"

David flinched. "This isn't something I can just decide on a moment, Luke!"

"It had bloody _better_ be, Dave, 'cause that's all we've got!" Lucas retorted. "It's a no-brainer, man! Have I ever led you wrong?"

David's anxious expression turned to a full-out scowl. "Says the wanker who's not even _real!_" he shouted. "Forget to _mention_ that, back in high school, Luke?"

Apocalypse folded his arms. "_Your self-prattling ceases to amuse Pharaoh, son of Xavier. Choose. Now._"

Lucas looked anguished. "Dave…if you back out, all _three_ of us are dead," he pleaded. "Don't let him kill us, man." Ian sniffled in agreement.

At David's hesitation, Apocalypse's eyes narrowed. "_If you are unwilling to serve,_" he rumbled, gathering telekinetic force in his hands, "_then you shall..!_"

An alarm blared from Apocalypse's throne, interrupting its master. Quickly, Sinister checked it. "It would appear, Master, that the Justice League has found us."

Ozymandias was aghast. "How?" he demanded. "How could they have located us this swiftly?"

Apocalypse smirked. "_It matters not, Ozymandias,_" he said. "_The two of you shall remain here with the boy: make ready my stronghold._" He turned to Exodus. "_To me, War: we shall repulse these interlopers!_"

Exodus looked elated. "I obey, my Pharaoh!"

As Apocalypse and Exodus left, Lucas rolled his eyes. "Bugger, that Exodus sod's a bloody suck-up." David couldn't argue, his head still swimming from everything: his father showing up, getting taken by Apocalypse, his ultimatum…

He just didn't know what to do…

XXXXXXXX

From the vista overlooking the Templo Meyor, Superman had to admit: under any other circumstances, it would have been an idyllic scene, with the sun setting behind the majestic ancient ruins. Any other time, he might have visited this place for a picnic with Alison…

"I'm sure she'd enjoy that."

Glancing over his shoulder at his Martian teammate, standing with the rest of their hastily-assembled team, Superman half-chuckled. "Eavesdropping, J'onn," he chided, before turning serious. "Any sign of Nur and Essex?"

The Manhunter nodded. "I'm sensing three powerful telepaths in those ruins, and I recognize one of them as Sinister," he confirmed. "I'm also getting a sporadic reading from another."

Professor Xavier shut his eyes. "David."

Moira's hand was reassuring on his shoulder. "We'll find him, Charlie."

Glancing down at the ancient temple, Captain Britain arched an eyebrow. "I gather this chap's stronghold will be somewhat labyrinthine," he hazarded. "There is a plan, I trust?"

"From the Watchtower, Sentrius did a full scan of the Templo Meyor, as well as the complex beneath it," Batman said, taking out his communicator and bringing up a topographical image of the scan-readouts. "As of a minute ago, the Watchtower detected a power-up of similar type to the Sphinx outpost, but of lower energy – Nur clearly hasn't got everything working, yet."

"Huh," Wolverine said. "You'd think the guy would've had it ready to go, after all these years."

Wolfsbane peered at the image. "So what's the plan?"

"There appears to be an entrance to the lower levels on the west side," Batman continued. "If we keep Nur attention focused elsewhere, a small team should be able to sneak in, provided they have a telepath to mask their psychic signatures."

"In other words, we keep the heavy-hitters out front while the rest shut him down," Green Lantern summarized. "How?"

Superman drew his belt-computer, opening a channel to the Watchtower. "Sentrius, is the program I uploaded ready?"

"_Affirmative, Commander. Once your hand-held is in place, I can target the facility._"

Banshee gulped at the sound of the computerized female voice. "So…that was the big lass upstairs?"

Superman nodded. "Once the infiltration team is in place, all they'll have to do is affix this to the main terminal," he instructed. "Sentrius will commence a full download, while targeting the facility with Phase-Shift weapons."

Green Arrow whistled. "Sounds like we're gonna have to smooth over the U.N., again," he muttered. "So, who's doing what?"

Taking the computer from Superman, Batman spoke up. "Superman, Lantern, J'onn, and Siryn will assault from the front," he said. "The rest of us will infiltrate from the west."

Concerned, Cyclops spoke next. "That just leaves four of you guys to handle Nur's frontal assault."

"We'll manage," Green Lantern answered. "For this phase, we need to be highly mobile, able to take a lot of punishment, and able to dish it out wide-field." He chuckled. "Most of you fit the third one, but not so much of the other two."

Black Canary snorted. "And Princess fits the bill _how?_"

Siryn crossed her arms. "Would conducting a one-woman, guerrilla-styled, evacuation campaign against Kree and Skrull forces satisfy you?"

Black Canary started to laugh, but stopped as she realized no-one else was. "Wait…she's _serious?_"

"_Dead_ serious, Canary," Phoenix answered.

Black Canary blinked. "_Damn._"

Professor Xavier looked pained. "Superman, before you deploy Sentrius, you must give us time to escape with David," he implored. "I…I can't fail him, again…"

"We'll do all that we can, Professor," Superman promised. "Everyone clear on what to do?" No-one argued. "Then let's move!" With that, he, J'onn, and Lantern took to the air, while Siryn vanished in a cloud of emerald haze.

Above the ancient temple, Superman scanned the ground for any trace of activity. "I'm not getting anything," he reported. "J'onn?"

The Manhunter's eyes flared white. "Apocalypse has noticed us," he replied. "He has not yet readied this outpost's defences, but he is attempting to do so."

Green Lantern's eyes narrowed. "So what does he plan to do in the meantime?"

As if to answer his teammate, Superman saw a flare of light below, depositing Apocalypse and Exodus a few feet away from the temple's main entrance. With a simple gesture, En Sabah Nur tore huge gouges out of the rocky earth, sending them hurtling straight at the airborne trio.

Lantern groaned. "Had to ask, didn't I?"

Quickly, Superman fired his eye-rays, splitting apart one boulder, letting its halves sail past him and his comrades. Just as fast, Green Lantern formed a giant catcher's mitt with his ring, catching another boulder and arcing it to J'onn, who turned it into a home-run with a TK-surge. As the boulder raced back to his master, a horrified Exodus moved to deflect it, but he was distracted as Siryn reappeared a few feet from him, slamming him with a sonic scream. His focus divided, Apocalypse was forced to leap clear, letting the rock impact where he'd been moments before. Superman saw their chance. "Now! Drop altitude!" At once, the three of them dropped, touching down to flank Siryn.

Apocalypse regained his balance easily, smirking. "_So, star-whelp, you survived._"

Superman glared back. "Surprised?"

"_Had you perished, I suppose I would have been._"

"Aren't you a peach," Superman snapped. "And the students are all fine – mostly – in case you were curious."

Apocalypse sneered. "_I was not,_" he growled. "_As I remarked to my Horseman, had I all the wisdom of Osiris, I would never understand how one with nearly as much power and weaponry as myself could be so deluded._"

Green Lantern readied his ring. "You'd probably need a heart-transplant to get it, Nur."

Exodus bristled. "Y-You _dare..?_"

"_Be still, War. I have come to expect insolence from these fools,_" Apocalypse said. "_The gods were merciful to you in our last encounter, Kryptonian._" His dark smile returned. "_Let us see if they still are._"

Apocalypse's TK-wave hit them just as he finished his sentence. Digging in his heels, Superman held fast while Siryn summoned a spell-barrier, blunting most of the blow. Telekinetically charging at them, an enraged Exodus slammed Siryn's barrier with a haymaker, shattering it and sending her stumbling. Grasping her by the throat with his TK, Exodus was about to choke the life out of her, but a telepathic surge from the Manhunter stalled him completely, allowing Siryn to break free while Green Lantern snared him with a ring-beam, lifting him up and smashing him back into the ground.

While his Horseman charged, Apocalypse remained patient, holding his ground, as he reached into the earth again, pulling countless more boulders from it, letting them orbit him. Levelling his gaze at Superman, Nur merely arched an eyebrow, which sent one boulder racing at the Man of Steel at breakneck speeds. Darting to the side, Superman dodged it easily…which caused Nur's follow-up boulder to take him square in the chest. "_Do you derive pleasure from serving these weaklings, whelp?_" Apocalypse remarked, as Superman stumbled back. "_Do you enjoy listening to them praise you, as if you were a god?_" His smirk grew. "_They will praise me more through __**fear.**_"

Superman was back on his feet in seconds. "You're no more a god than _I_ am, Nur."

Apocalypse laughed. "_The history my scribes write will dictate otherwise!_" Readying four more boulders, he launched them at Superman, who held fast…and surged 50 percent of his maximum power through his arms and legs.

Instantly, the motion of the boulders slowed to a crawl as Superman's brain raced ahead of real-time. Leaping at the first rock, Superman contacted it and pushed off with enough force to shatter it, catching the second and throwing it into the third, ending by plowing through the last rock, to slam into Apocalypse, flipping his tackle into a suplex, slamming Nur hard into the ground.

Seeing Apocalypse fall, Exodus was distraught. "_My Pharaoh!_" Instantly, he summoned his own TK, grabbing a nearby tree and psychically hurling it at Superman.

Getting back on her feet, Siryn thought fast. '_Well, it worked for Clarice!_' Gesturing ahead of the wooden missile, she conjured two green clouds: one ahead of Exodus, and one behind him. The tree sailed into the first cloud…and shot out of the second, forcing Exodus to leap clear. As Siryn fell, exhausted, Green Lantern covered her with a barrage of green laser-fire from the light-turrets he'd formed around her. Forced backwards, Exodus cried out in pain as he walked right into J'onn's semi-phased hand, as it reached into his skull. Irate, Exodus tried to suppress the pain, as he unleashed another TK-blast, pushing the Martian back.

Glancing down into the crater he'd slammed Apocalypse into, Superman had to leap back as the mad warlord levitated up into the air. "_Decent enough sport, I suppose,_" Nur mused, "_but I grow weary of this._"

J'onn was about to finish Exodus off, when his eyes went wide. "Superman! He's trying to contact Sinister to activate this base!"

Superman grimaced. "_Jam_ him!" he ordered, flying straight at Apocalypse, hoping to stop him, to give the others more time. '_Come on, guys…_'

XXXXXXXX

_A few minutes earlier_

"So what's the deal between you and LeRoux?"

As the infiltration team followed Batman further into the darkness of the Mayan catacombs, Black Canary felt her eye twitch at Green Arrow's question. "There _is_ no "deal," Friar Suck."

Green Arrow snorted. "Well, that's a new one," he retorted. "But seriously, spill it."

Her psychic flame lighting the way, Phoenix spoke next. "I was curious about that, myself."

Dinah's twitch grew into a tick. "So read my mind, Grey."

"I'd prefer not to."

Wolverine glanced to Madelyn. "Think we gotta give those two the same treatment we gave Diva and Princess?"

Madelyn shrugged. "Why not? It fixed their problem, that time."

"There _is_ no problem!" Dinah shouted. "So I don't like that spoiled little brat! _Sue_ me!"

Batman stopped in his tracks, glancing back over his shoulder. "Would you care to give our position away to the _other_ half of the temple, or are you finished?"

Black Canary lowered her head. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Wolfsbane tensed. "I smell 'em," she growled. "Sinister an' David are just up ahead."

Wolverine took a sniff. "Oh, yeah, that's Essex," he confirmed. "Also gettin' a mix of rock and mold – gotta be that stone guy, Ozy-something."

"Ozymandias," Charles corrected.

By then, they had reached the very edge of the corridor they were in, which immediately opened out into a vast chamber, with multiple walkways interlacing above their heads, and Apocalypse's throne at the back, next to several high-tech consoles…with Sinister and Ozymandias poring over them, while a confused-looking David stood nearby, talking to no-one. Cyclops moved next to the Dark Knight. "If we can take Sinister out of the picture, we should be able to get David clear," he observed. "Jean's got us mostly shielded from Sinister's detection, but we'll never be able to move up without him noticing…"

"He'll be too busy with me," Batman said, handing Superman's belt-computer to Moira. "Dr. McTaggert, as soon as you get my signal, slap that on one of the consoles."

Taking the device, Moira looked perplexed. "An' yer signal would be…what, exactly?"

"You'll know it when you see it." Drawing his grapple-gun, Batman looked back to Cyclops. "When I distract him, start moving into position." With that, he fired his grapnel, pulling himself up to one of the higher walkways. Perching high above Sinister's work-station, Batman drew a small disc from his utility belt, expanded it into a twin-bladed, saw-like projectile, and threw it; the weapon impacted the metal of the console just above Sinister's head, sticking in and letting out a faint resonant _ping_, which gradually grew louder and faster with each second.

It took several seconds for Sinister to notice. "What..?"

_PPSSSHHHRREEEEEEE!_

The projectile erupted in a blast of high-pitched sonic force, echoing with a batlike shriek that sent Sinister and Ozymandias flying back, ears ringing. David nearly jumped out of his skin. "W-What the bloody hell was _that?_"

At once, the rest of the team moved up, creeping along the edges of the room, keeping to the shadows, until Cyclops motioned for them to stop.

Staggering to his feet, Sinister shook his head, clearing the spots from his vision. Moving back to his work-station, he examined the remnants of the weapon…and smiled. "Very amusing, human!" he called out. "If you think this tiny toy will unnerve me, you are mistaken!"

Only silence answered him, as Batman fired his grapnel, stealthily moving to an adjacent walkway, lining up his next attack. Levitating himself, Sinister glided to the spot he'd thrown his Sonic Batarang from, looking around. Breaking into a run, Batman leapt off his perch, throwing his arms wide, spreading his cape into a rigid wing, gliding into Sinister from behind, to kick him hard in the back. Knocked off the walkway, Sinister caught himself before he hit ground, spinning in mid-air to launch a TK-blast at who'd kicked him…

…only to see nothing where he'd just been. Ozymandias scowled, shouting up at Sinister. "Essex, you fool! He's making you look like an imbecile!"

Ignoring his comrade, Sinister's eyes narrowed, as he glared up at the shadows, ignorant of the others creeping forward a bit further. "You think me a fool, human?" he shouted. "You think I am some peon susceptible to the superstitious dread you hide behind?" He smirked. "You are no mystery to me: your thoughts are an open book! At this very moment, you are thinking of trying to use your line-weapon against me!"

"Actually, I'm thinking of the location of my headquarters."

Batman's voice echoed in the distance, prompting Sinister to propel himself to a walkway in the corner…only to find nothing there. "Your tricks are no mystery to _me_, Essex," Batman echoed again, causing Sinister to whirl around. "I've prepared for telepathic warfare even _before_ I had the Manhunter's advice. I know how to cloud my thoughts."

Sinister scowled. "Oh, really?" he snarled. "Can you cloud your own _eyes?_" With that, he focused hard, scanning the room for any other minds, brushing past David's, ignoring the bubble of silence that hovered nearby…and found the eye-image of someone looking down at him from the west. "_Hah!_" Sinister crowed, launching a TK-pulse at his newfound target, smashing Batman's perch to pieces…

…just as a glob of gel splatted onto the walkway beneath his feet, from the _east._ His eyes wide, Sinister just barely threw himself clear before the gel detonated, blasting his footing apart and leaving him hanging onto the edge. Scrambling back up, Sinister felt his teeth grind as he realized the Batman had tricked him again. "You had a chance for a quick death, before," he growled, "but _now_ I will take pleasure in dissecting you _alive!_"

As the others inched closer again, David caught sight of them. For a moment, he froze, until Lucas asserted himself. "Essex, we've got a problem..!"

Ozymandias was irate. "Sinister, you _idiot!_ You've let these brats outflank us!"

From his perch directly behind Sinister, Batman knew he had to work fast. Drawing his Line-Launcher, he took aim and fired, sending the metal cable spearing into the walls behind and ahead of him. As the Launcher pulled the cable taut, it sent him straight at Sinister, letting him kick the mutant madman in the back, knocking him flat on his face. But Batman wasn't done: grabbing the cable, he somersaulted over it to face the right, retracting the cable and firing it again, to sail directly over Lucas, where he retracted it once more, letting him slam straight down on Lucas, cutting off his warning. Affixing his Batclaw to his grapple-gun, he turned and fired at Sinister; the claw-attachment snared Essex's cape, letting the Dark Knight pull him back as he got up, to crash down hard on the stone floor.

Realizing that was Batman's signal, Moira made a beeline for the console, affixing Superman's belt-computer to it, while the others surrounded Lucas and Ozymandias. As the young mutant tried to get up, Psylocke formed her psychic blade. "That's enough out of _you_, mate!" she declared, stabbing Lucas through the forehead, while Cyclops optic-blasted Ozymandias clear across the chamber.

For several seconds, Lucas screamed, before he morphed back into a bewildered David. "W-Wha..?" he cried, looking around. "What…how did all of you…why..?"

Charles rolled forward, catching his son by the forearms. "It's alright, David," he soothed. "We're here to get you out."

At the sight of Batman, David paled, inching away. "G-Get that madman away from me!" he shouted. "He tried to kill me! You _saw_ him..!"

"Your friend Lucas is taking over, Haller," Batman replied flatly. "_You_ saw him, just now. How long before he does it?"

David was stricken, holding his head. "I…I don't know what to do..!"

"Then let us _help_ you, David," Charles implored.

Phoenix nodded. "I had this kind of problem, too, until the Professor helped me."

"He helped _all_ of us," Cyclops agreed. "And we were kids that, at the time, he didn't even _know._" He chuckled. "For his _own_ kid? He'd move heaven and earth."

David started to calm down. "R-Really?"

Charles smiled warmly. "Of course."

"Remarkable."

Sinister's chortle drew everyone's attention to him as he stood up, still wobbly. "Were I given to emotion, I might be touched," he said, before glancing to Batman. "I made the mistake of dismissing you, before. I had considered only the X-Gene in my studies – it never occurred to me that studying the genomes of non-mutants could be of any benefit." His grin grew. "You might yet be of some value, human; perhaps your traits could be adapted for manipulation in my next experiments…after dissection, of course."

Batman's tone was bone-dry. "I'm flattered."

"_Accessing main databank,_" came Sentrius' voice from the main console. "_Initiating target-lock._"

Sinister's smile vanished. "So, you came prepared," he mused. "I had hoped for more time to ready the defences, but if I am rushed..." Not bothering to finish, he closed his eyes, focusing on the console, which began to hum.

Moira's expression turned stricken. "Lassie, any time ye'd care to shut this place down..!"

"_The encryption used to safeguard these systems are remarkably robust, Dr. McTaggert,_" Sentrius answered her. "_I require more time._"

Snarling, Wolverine bared his claws. "Then we take out the guy yankin' the strings!" he roared, charging straight at Sinister. Diverting enough focus to detect the attack, Sinister raised a barrier ahead of him, but Logan somersaulted _over_ it, landing behind him while Black Canary and Banshee unloaded twin screams at him. Forced to repel the double blasts, Sinister was unable to stop the adamantium claws that speared into his back, as Wolverine, reeled back into a reverse-throw that launched Sinister across the room.

Watching the sight, David was bewildered…until he morphed into a baleful Ian, who unleashed a TK-wave, pushing back his attackers and knocking Charles out of his wheelchair, before Lucas regained control. "I've had just about _enough_ of you bloody gits!" he roared, summoning fire and aiming it at Charles…only to have his firebolt fly wide, as a feral Wolfsbane pounced at him, biting his wrist. "_Bloody mutt!_" he exploded, coating his arms with psychic flame, forcing Rahne to let go and change back. Grabbing the girl by the neck, Lucas hoisted her up, holding a fireball right by her face.

Cyclops moved to his mentor's side, his hand on his visor. "Professor, I think I've got a shot..!"

"No, Scott!" Charles cried, before turning an imploring gaze to Lucas. "David, please; it doesn't have to be this way..!"

"Oh, yes it _does_, old man!" Lucas sneered. "You want to know what I _really_ am? I'm everything that Dave thinks, but never has the guts to say or do!" His smirk turned hateful. "You think I could do this if, somewhere under that pansy sweater-vest, he didn't _want_ to fry this little freak, just to see your face when she burns?"

Cyclops tensed. "Professor..!"

Charles was aghast. "David, don't do this; you can't let him..!"

Lucas' eyes blazed. "_Don't_ tell us what to do, you old – _uurrk!_"

Lucas froze in mid-threat, as Charles snared him in a telepathic chokehold. "Rahne, _run!_"

Easily breaking free, Wolfsbane ran clear of Lucas, just as the twisted young mutant got loose of the Professor's grip. "_You fucking BASTARD!_" he raged, pulling back for a throw.

Cyclops' reaction was instantaneous. "Professor, _down!_"

Charles reached out to stop him. "Scott, _no..!_"

It came too late. Cyclops' visor flared ruby, as the concussive beam slammed into Lucas, smashing him back against the stone wall with enough force to crater it. Seconds later, the dust cleared…leaving David sagging on the floor.

Charles was distraught. "_David!_"

Cyclops looked horrified, his hand still by his visor. "I…I didn't…I thought he was going to..!"

Both of them went silent, as David started to rise to his feet. Charles dared a sigh of relief. "David, are you alright?"

David glared back at him. "They were right."

Charles gulped. "What?"

"Luke. Apocalypse. They were _right_ about you," David accused. "I actually thought I could give you a chance." His eyes narrowed. "And then that Yankee git tries to kill me, and you _let_ him."

Charles shook his head. "No, David; Lucas was going to kill Rahne!" he cried. "I wanted to stop him, not hurt him!"

"Of _course_ you did," David spat, "because _that's_ what you really care about, isn't it? You were so busy taking care of _other_ people's freaks, you never bothered with your own!" His fists clenched. "Well, congratulations, "Dad!" You _made_ me – _us_ – what I am! _I hope you're bloody proud!_"

Charles' heart nearly ripped in two. "David…"

David laughed bitterly. "I suppose I should thank you, really!" he remarked. "Thanks to you, I now know what I want to do with my life: _burn down __**everything**__ you abandoned me to build, starting NOW!_" He looked over his shoulder. "Ian, Luke: new plan!" he ordered. "Pops' mind-broads can't jam us if we keep switching up!" With that, he glared at Psylocke, as a vein popped out in his forehead.

The second he did that, Psylocke froze, wincing as she clutched her head. Tiring fast, David quickly morphed into Ian, who knocked her and Phoenix away with his telekinesis, before he morphed back to Lucas. "That's my _boy_, Dave!" he crowed, as he unleashed twin pillars of flame, forcing Cyclops to grab Charles and leap to the side.

Wincing as he stretched his shoulders from Wolverine's claw-stab, Sinister barely had enough time to repel Madelyn's mind-blast before flipping over Captain Britain and Monster-Meggan's charge. "Hmm…not exactly equal odds, is it?" Sinister remarked. "Perhaps I should remedy that."

As Essex triggered another switch on the console with his TK, Moira frantically tried to reverse it. "Sentrius, what'd that sod just do?"

"_I am detecting a power-up in the facility's automated defence-grid,_" Sentrius reported over the radio. "_Localizing…done – active subroutine is utilized in operating site-defence drones and automated turrets. Attempting power-reroute now._"

As Sentrius spoke, numerous panels in the stone walls popped open, allowing dozens of high-tech scarab-robots – identical to the ones from the Sphinx – to pour out, scrabbling towards them. From his position near the Professor, Cyclops opened up on them, pasting three with his optic-blasts, one after another. "Well, Sentrius, could you reroute a little _faster?_"

As the scarabs closed in, Captain Britain rolled up his sleeves. "Very well, then. Sean? Betsy? Some cover-fire, if you please!" At their leader's request, Banshee unleashed another sonic-scream, smashing a half-dozen drones to pieces, while Psylocke telekinetically grabbed two more, turning them around in front of her brother, using them as both shields and turrets. His path cleared, Captain Britain dashed at the nearest drone, rolling under its shots and popping up with an uppercut, knocking its head clean off, before grabbing its arm-cannon and tearing it off, as well. Suitably armed, the Captain opened up on the rest of the swarm, felling five more, while the enraged Meggan slashed with her claws, ripping apart another five and stomping two more underfoot.

Moving to aid Cyclops, Phoenix seared four drones into slag with a pulse of psi-fire, while Black Canary annihilated five more with a scream…but the scarabs just kept coming. "Hey, Sherwood!" Canary called. "Think we could get a little _backup_, here?"

Firing an acid-arrow into a drone's eye, Green Arrow leapt onto its back and vaulted off, letting loose a cluster of explosive arrows that took down another three. "What do you want from me, woman? I've only got _one_ quiver, here!" he retorted, drawing his handgun-crossbows as he landed, and peppering three drones ahead of him with mini-bolts. "Plus, Blue and the others have got their hands full with Apoc, out there..!"

_BOOOOOOM!_

The second Arrow spoke, the ceiling above them gave way, as Superman tackled Apocalypse through the ancient stone, slamming him into the ground. Apocalypse was stunned briefly, before he rolled back, throwing Superman off of him and leaping back to his feet.

With a brief snort, Green Arrow pointed to his comrade. "What'd I tell you?"

Superman was already on his feet as Nur turned to face him. "_As before, star-whelp, I have enjoyed the sport, but the advantage remains mine!_" Apocalypse thundered. "_Surrender, or my forces will smite your cohorts where they stand!_"

Keeping one ear trained on his communicator, Superman smiled slyly. "You sure you can follow through on that, Nur?"

At that, the entire swarm of drones suddenly froze, their entire bodies sagging, to Apocalypse's horror. "_WHAT?_"

"_Command override has been established, Commander El. Data-upload is in progress,_" came Sentrius' report. "_In addition, I now have target-lock on this facility. Awaiting further orders._"

Superman grinned. "Arm Phase-Shift Laser-Cannons, and target this outpost's weapons-systems and shield-emitters – fire when ready!"

"_Acknowledged._"

Standing back up, a recovered Ozymandias glowered at him with incredulous rage. "Fool brat! What have you _done?_"

"Turned off your master's toys, that's what."

By then, Exodus had flown in after them, moving to his master's side as Lantern, J'onn, and Siryn gave chase. "My Pharaoh, something is amiss!" Exodus cried. "For a moment, your stronghold's defences were at full strength, but then they all failed!"

_TTSSSSHHHHEEEEEEEWW!_

The searing noise of a laser answered Exodus as a wave of neon-green energy filled the entire chamber, passing right through the walls; Black Canary flinched at its contact as the hairs on her neck all stood on end, but as it passed, she felt no worse for wear, otherwise.

The outpost's systems, however, were another story.

As the Trans-Phase beam dissipated, the console began to spark, shorting out as its innermost circuits were fused solid. Bewildered, Apocalypse checked himself over as he saw the damage. "_How..?_"

"Trans-Phase beam technology, Nur. It's a recent application of my people's Phase-Shift tech," Superman said. "Now, you were saying something about surrendering?"

Apocalypse looked madder than an asp with its tail pulled. "_Know this, whelp: whatever place you could have held in my kingdom is now FORFEIT!_" he boomed. "_On this day, you have signed the death-warrants for yourself and ALL who stand with you!_" With a furious glance, he gestured to his throne.

It was only then that Dinah noticed that his throne _hadn't_ been affected by Sentrius' beam. "Uh, guys?"

At once, the throne flew to its master's side, who promptly sat in it. Superman ran to stop him, but he impacted a smaller version of the Sphinx's shield, which sent him flying back. Checking the console in the throne's armrest, Apocalypse scowled deeper. "_This place is no longer of any use,_" he grumbled. "_War! Than'al! Ozymandias! We depart!_"

As Exodus, Sinister, and Ozymandias all raced to Apocalypse's side, David regained control over his body…and ran with them, through the gap Apocalypse opened in his throne-shield. "Not without me!"

Charles was horrified. "David…_no…_"

David just sneered at his father. "So long, old man!" he spat. "See you at your funeral!"

Apocalypse smirked. "_Then you need not wait long, my new Horseman,_" he said, tapping a button. "_This tomb is now his._" With that, the five of them vanished in a flare of light.

The moment Apocalypse departed, the entire complex began to shake, prompting Superman and Batman to race to the fried console. Psylocke gulped. "This hardly sounds promising."

From the readout on the few remaining screens, Superman couldn't argue. "He's triggered some kind of overload!" he exclaimed. "Dammit, I can't override it from here!"

Batman nodded in agreement from the other side of the console. "Sentrius, can you stop it?"

"_Negative,_" Sentrius reported. "_Given the unknown code safeguarding the power-systems, I calculate that I would require 30 seconds to successfully penetrate the firewall surrounding them._"

Batman arched an eyebrow. "And?"

"_My present calculations indicate that the generator will achieve critical mass within 20._"

Banshee groaned. "Aw, _feck._"

Superman quickly retrieved his belt-computer, before he, Batman, and Moira hurried back to the others. "Siryn, we'll need an exit, if you don't mind!" Nodding, Siryn quickly concentrated, forming green haze around herself and the others, taking them far away from the dying complex.

As Siryn's spell deposited them on the mesa overlooking the temple, they were just in time to see the ground literally ripple around the impressive pyramid, echoing out for miles, just before the Templo Meyor actually _sank down_ about 50 feet, settling into position with a resonant _thud_, but otherwise no damage. Cyclops blinked with surprise. "Wow."

Batman was unphased. "The complex was obviously over 100 feet down. The bedrock absorbed most of the shockwave before it hit the temple itself."

"Yeah, but you'd think it'd get a little banged up from dropping," Black Canary observed. "Score one for Aztec architects."

Batman turned to Superman. "Did Sentrius get any usable data?"

Superman checked his communicator. "She got something, but most of it is in that weird code; only a fraction is translatable hieroglyphics."

Green Lantern sighed. "So we lost our only lead. Again."

"Hey, at least we stopped Nur from getting this place!" Green Arrow defended. "He's only got _one_ impenetrable stronghold instead of two! I'd count that a win!"

Looking grave, Superman turned to the Professor, who was sitting on the ground, his head in his hands. "I'm not so sure about that, guys."

Stricken, Moira placed a hand on Charles' shoulder, but the Professor didn't seem to notice. "Oh, God…oh, dear Lord in Heaven…how could I have failed him?"

No-one knew how to answer that question.

XXXXXXXX

_Undisclosed location_

"Have to say, Dave, if you had to pick a time to grow a pair, I'm glad you picked today!"

After arriving in the darkened, ancient ruin that Apocalypse must have been using for a main headquarters, David rolled his eyes at his alter's remarks. "Not now, Luke."

Leaning on a stone column, Lucas shrugged. "Just saying."

Several feet away, Apocalypse gazed at a high-tech view-screen dotted with strange-looking symbols, showing a map of the globe, with numerous yellow lights, as well as one green light in the middle of Egypt…and one red one in Central America.

Obviously, the old man and his precious kids had fried that one.

Apocalypse's arms were folded, his expression dour. "_Be certain, my vizier: you are sure you kept a copy of this map nowhere but your laboratory?_"

Sinister nodded. "Absolutely, Master," he promised. "My main research facility was the only place I had copies of the map; the Batman's meddling triggered the failsafe before he could read all of it."

Ozymandias scowled. "Had you been more careful, Essex, he would not have gotten even that much!"

"_Enough,_" Apocalypse rumbled. "_What's done is done. The overall plan will not be impacted by the loss of one site._" He fixed Sinister with a warning glower. "_Be warned, however: I will not be so forgiving of a second failure._"

Sinister was a bit paler than normal as he heard that. "Of course, my Pharaoh." He returned his gaze to the image. "As for the issue of reconfiguring the technology for your purpose, I am making progress in that regard. The initial purpose of these sites is similar enough to your goal that I can adjust each site rather easily."

Ozymandias seized that opportunity. "I would urge you to proceed more swiftly, Essex; every moment you delay is another that the Master must wait for his army!"

An idea hit David at that. "So why not have a recruitment drive in the meantime, then?"

Apocalypse turned to David. "_Oh?_"

Ozymandias sputtered. "Fool brat! Waste not your Pharaoh's time!"

David kept going. "That's how you assembled your army ages ago, isn't it?"

Lucas moved next to him. "You going somewhere, Dave?"

Apocalypse's eyes narrowed. "_In my time, child, I had but to raise my hand, and the people fought in my name._"

"Right, because they _knew_ you were Pharaoh!" David continued. "In this day and age, they _don't!_ My old man's probably made sure of that!"

Lucas snorted. "Yeah, 'cause a mutant warlord runnin' about would send his dream circling the loo."

Apocalypse arched an eyebrow. "_Continue._"

A dark smile crossed David's face. "Way I see it, Pops has only been presenting _one_ side of the mutant issue," he said. "You, Pharaoh, are the _other_! It's only fair that mutants get _both_ sides, right?"

Sinister chuckled. "You seem to be knowledgeable in these matters."

David shrugged. "I was studying PR at Oxford."

A wicked smile started to cross Apocalypse's face. "_You have chosen to serve me, then?_"

"That depends," David answered. "Are you going to smash my worthless father's stupid dream? Are you going to shatter _everything_ he abandoned me for?" His eyes narrowed. "And are you going to grind him underfoot until he _has_ to admit he's wrong?"

Apocalypse laughed. "_Yes to all three, especially the last!_"

David smirked. "Then I'm in."

Apocalypse's smile grew. "_Excellent, my new Horseman!_" he declared. "_Just as your fool sire starved you of his acceptance, so shall you starve our enemies of their strength! As my new statesman, you shall be the voice of my kingdom, carrying my words to my followers, and my curses to those who oppose me!_" He looked David in the eye. "_For this, you shall be known to all as Famine._" He crossed his arms. "_What would you have us call you in private?_"

David thought for a moment, as he glanced to Lucas and Ian…and he knew. "I'm a one-man army," he thought aloud. "Though I'm one, we are many…and woe to any who get in our way!" He grinned. "Call us…_Legion._"

Lucas crowed. "Bloody brilliant, mate!"

Apocalypse seemed to agree. "_Well chosen, my Horseman,_" he said. "_Then come, for we have much to do…_"

XXXXXXXX

_Camelot Base_

"You know, there just might be something to this "tea-time" of yours."

In Camelot Base's main recreation chamber, Black Canary hung back as Madelyn sat down in front of the plasma TV, sipping a cup of tea as Brian, Meggan, and Betsy sat down across from her. "I thought you might appreciate it, Agent Pryor," Brian answered, sipping his own cup.

"_Former_ Agent, Captain. Fury and I have had something of an…operational disagreement."

From the corner he was leaning in, Logan snorted. "Understatement of the year, Red."

Madelyn sent a teasing smile towards him. "I'm sure trying this wouldn't hurt, Logan."

"Pass."

Madelyn sighed. "Incorrigible." She glanced back to Brian and Meggan. "I hope you don't mind me asking, Captain, but…Moira wasn't clear on what your mutation was."

Brian shrugged. "I dare say that was because I have none."

Madelyn froze. "You…you don't have an X-Gene?"

Betsy shook her head. "Not even a trace."

Brian took another sip. "Initially, Moira visited my family for Betsy; I simply "came with the bargain," if you will," he said.

Logan was equally surprised. "So you're just an ordinary human?"

Meggan pouted. "Human? Sure. Ordinary? Not bloody likely!"

"Now, now, love; they didn't know," Brian soothed. "Granted, I had always had something of a knack for athletics and academics; when Moira recruited Elizabeth, I volunteered to accompany her. And now, after several years of military training and deployment, I may be more fit than the average bloke…but as for the X-Gene? Pathetically ordinary, I'm afraid."

Logan chuckled. "Kiddo, you remind me of an old pal of mine."

Black Canary spoke up. "So…where exactly is the Professor?"

Brian glanced towards her. "I believe he and Moira were discussing matters with your League compatriots in the briefing room; it's just down the hall."

"Thanks," Dinah said, as she turned and walked out, heading for the briefing room…only to bump into Green Arrow. As her nose collided with his chest, Dinah jumped back, glaring at him. "Watch where you're going, Sherwood."

Arrow frowned back. "Nice to see you too, Loudmouth," he quipped back. "You looking for the Professor?"

"Yeah. Apparently he's in the briefing room." Dinah turned to go, but paused as she realized Green Arrow was following her. "Quit following me."

"My teammates are in the briefing room, too, lady."

Dinah flushed momentarily. "Oh." She said nothing more, as they kept going.

As they reached the briefing room, Dinah found the Professor there, in a new wheelchair, along with Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, J'onn, Wolfsbane, Cyclops, and Phoenix. "Gabrielle has been calling for you, Charlie," Moira said. "Shouldn't you..?"

"I don't believe that would be a good idea, Moira," Charles said. "I already know she's going to blame me for David's defection, like she blames me for everything else."

Green Lantern arched an eyebrow. "You read her mind?"

"I do not need to, Lantern," Charles murmured. "In this case, I'm not sure she's wrong."

Superman's expression saddened at that. "We're going to get him back, Professor," he promised, taking out his belt-computer. "Sentrius, have you analyzed the data you pulled from Apocalypse's mainframe, yet?"

"_As much as possible, Commander. Based on the structure of the code, I have determined that much of it is not encrypted, but a previously-unknown language. I have no record of it in my database. A portion of it – presumably Apocalypse's logs – decode to hieroglyphics, which will be easier to decode, given some time. In addition, after forwarding the data to Kurox at the Fortress, he concurs with another finding of mine: that the technology used by Apocalypse gives off a power-signature highly similar to that of the Dheronians._"

Cyclops went pale. "You…you mean they're the same tech?"

"_Not quite, Scott Summers: the Dheronian technology had a more efficient output. Simply put, it is more recent._"

Batman frowned. "So Apocalypse and the Dheronians have the same supplier; the Dheronians just got the newest models."

"_In all likelihood, yes._"

J'onn looked thoughtful. "Are we any closer to tracking them?"

"_Negative,_" Sentrius replied. "_It should be of note that the energy-signature detected during Apocalypse's egress was similar to that of the Boom-Tube under study. With this new data, Kurox reports that the probability of reverse-engineering it has increased._"

"Well, that be some good news," Wolfsbane remarked.

Superman nodded. "Thanks, Sentrius. Keep us posted."

"_Affirmative, Commander. Watchtower out._"

As Superman ended the call, Moira managed a smile. "I think a wee bit more good news is in order," she remarked. "Scott, I gather Charlie mentioned I requested ye specifically?"

Cyclops looked confused. "Yeah, along with Dinah and Anita."

Black Canary was equally perplexed. "Why was that?"

"I'll get to ye and Anita later, lassie," Moira said, as she moved to a console, bringing up a video-feed. "As fer ye Scott…well, see fer y'self."

At her prompt, Cyclops walked up to the console…and _froze._ "O-Oh my God…that's…he's…is he..?"

Worried, Phoenix moved to her boyfriend's side. "Scott, what's wrong?" she asked, before she, too, froze up. "Is…is that..?"

Moira's smile grew. "We found him a few days after the invasion and Zod's attack," she explained. "'Twas a mite hairy dealin' with him, at first, but we managed to calm him an' bring him in. Had nary a clue who he was 'til Charlie mentioned ye'd seen him, back then. Course, I could nae be sure 'til now."

Staring at the image of his long-lost brother, sitting calmly in a hospital chamber, munching on a sandwich, Cyclops sniffed, a drop of moisture leaking from his visor. "_G-Gabriel?_"

Phoenix held his hand. "It's him, Scott," she whispered. "We found him."

Green Lantern smiled. "Well, how about that: a happy ending, after all."

Charles rolled to Moira's side. "Moira, thank you."

Moira beamed. "'Twas the least I could do, Charlie."

Cyclops turned to Moira. "Does he…I mean…can I..?"

Looking guilty, Moira shook her head, anticipating Scott's inquiry. "I wouldn't advise a visit just yet, laddie; when we found him, yer brother could nae even talk, and it took Excalibur an' an entire brigade to reel 'im in!" At Cyclops' dismay, Moira smiled, and continued. "He's gradually remembering things, an' we're helping him learn English, so 'tis a likely option for the near future…"

"…just not now," Cyclops finished. "I get it, Doctor – whatever's best for Gabriel."

"Good." At that, Moira turned to Dinah. "Now, if ye don't mind, I'd like a word with Miss Lance. Charlie?"

Charles nodded in understanding. "Dinah, would you please come with us?" Even more confused than before, Dinah followed the Professor and Moira out of the briefing room.

A minute later, they arrived in another conference room, where Siryn and Banshee were waiting. Seeing Moira, Sean spoke up. "Dr. McTaggert? What's going on?"

Moira walked to the nearby console, bringing up three DNA-profiles. "In the past, when Charlie mentioned ye havin' sonic powers, Miss LeRoux, it raised me suspicions," she remarked. "An' then when ye showed up, Miss Lance, Charlie knew fer certain somethin' was amiss."

Siryn frowned. "What exactly are you saying, Doctor?"

Moira looked mildly sheepish. "It may have been a bit of a wee impropriety, but Charlie asked me to run comparative scans on the three of ye…an' the results just came back." The scans highlighted several sections of each DNA-strand: the _same_ sections. "'Twould seem…that the three of ye…have the same father."

Dinah's eyes almost popped out of her head. "_WHAT?_"

Sean's hand went to his forehead. "Bugger me…the three of us..?"

Charles nodded. "…are half-siblings."

Even Anita looked frazzled. "Doctor…you are joking."

Moira shook her head. "Afraid not, lassie. Barring a genetic coincidence of near-unfathomable improbability, the three of ye are related."

That revelation left Dinah's head spinning. "I…I have to go," was all she said, before she ran out of the room. She'd barely gotten a meter away when she had to lean against the wall to keep from falling over, unable to believe what she'd just learned…

"So, Loudmouth, what was – whoa, are you okay?"

Green Arrow's smug tone quickly gave way to concern as the archer moved to her side, though it didn't help Dinah's mood. "Do I _look_ okay to you?"

Green Arrow flinched. "What the heck happened?" he asked. "You'd think you just got told you have a day to live!" His eyes went wide. "You…you didn't, did you?"

Dinah laughed bitterly. "If only!" she exclaimed. "I just found out that LeRoux is my _half-sister!_"

Green Arrow nearly choked. "_Holy..!_"

"I know!"

Green Arrow took a deep breath. "So…how do you feel about that?"

"How do I…what kind of question is _that?_" Dinah cried. "The two of us can barely stand each other! Half of the time we just trade insults, and the other half we either ignore or tolerate each other on missions! How the _hell_ are we supposed to deal with being _related?_"

Green Arrow's concern gave way to a barely-suppressed smirk. "Canary…you just described the state of more than _half_ of all sibling relationships the world over," he quipped. "Sounds like you two already have a good handle on it."

Scowling, Dinah skewered Arrow with a glare. "Bite me."

Green Arrow just arched an eyebrow. "Save _that_ for the third date, Birdie."

The semi-lecherous remark made Dinah sputter, hugging herself as she flushed. "Oh, go sit on an arrow, you pervert!"

"_Will all personnel report to the rec room? We have something of a situation developing._"

Captain Britain's words over the PA drew Dinah, Arrow, and all the others to the rec room…where they got the shock of their lives. Wolfsbane gaped at the image on the TV. "What the..?"

Banshee was equally aghast. "How'd _that_ gobshite get on the telly?"

Dinah was silent as she gazed at the image of Apocalypse on the TV, glaring back at them, arms folded, before he spoke. "_People of Earth,_" he boomed. "_I am Apocalypse, born En Sabah Nur, the first of my kind, now called mutants. An age ago, I ruled over all Egypt, Old and New Kingdom alike…and now, I have returned to lay claim to all this world, as is my right and destiny. Choose to serve me, and you shall survive. Oppose me, and you shall perish._"

Apocalypse' scowl lessened. "_I speak now to my people – to all mutants of this world,_" he declared. "_Long have you suffered under these inferior humans. You have been discarded, brutalized, and slain outright. I tell you now, that time is over. Your suffering has served to forge and strengthen you all for this day: the day you claim the same mastery over this world that always was yours!_" He extended a hand to the screen. "_Come to me, my brothers and sisters. Join with me. Serve in my army, and none shall dare raise a hand to you, ever again!_" His eyes narrowed. "_Linger with them – the weak, unworthy humans – and you shall fall as surely as they. The choice is yours._" He crossed his arms again. "_Now let it be written, and let it be done. Pharaoh has spoken._" And with that, the transmission ended, allowing normal programming to resume.

For several long seconds, no-one spoke, until Logan voiced what they were thinking. "Well, we're in it, now."

Betsy fumed. "That little…how much do you want to bet David had a hand in that?"

Green Lantern nodded. "The little bastard just set mutant-human relations back to Nur's age with that!"

Batman kept calm. "Did Sentrius manage to trace it?"

Superman was checking his belt-computer. "He managed to piggyback it off of all local and international frequencies; it wasn't on long enough to trace!" he reported.

"Just long enough to incite panic, riots, and all manner of chaos," Batman observed.

Cyclops looked grim. "Then we're going to be busy, for a while."

Superman nodded, just as dour. "Yeah," he agreed. "It's a whole new ball-game…"

XXXXXXXX

_Author's Note: Hey, all! I'm still alive! Sorry about the delay! A word of advice: never start a story the same year you do a thesis research-project. Thankfully, mine's pretty well done! Plus, the semester's almost over! All that's left is finals and graduation!_

_And maybe grad-school, but I'll deal with that later._

_And if anyone asks, yes, I borrowed a few ideas from the Batman: Arkham game-series. I've been playing Arkham City Armored Edition for the past little while, and it's been awesome!_

_Coming Soon:_

_In the wake of Apocalypse's propaganda-bomb, our heroes are left with the fallout._

_As the world – and popular opinion – turns sour, some old enemies decide to hit the X-Men where it hurts…_

…_but is this underhanded tactic merely the first phase of a darker plan?_

_Find out, in "Revolution X," coming to your computer soon…_


End file.
